Tsunami Triggered by the Lamb Wave From the 2022 Tonga Volcanic Eruption and Transition in the Offshore Japan Region

Abstract The 2022 volcanic eruption in Tonga caused an unusually large tsunami around the Pacific. It travels with a faster apparent velocity and has larger amplitudes at long distances than what would be expected from a conventional tsunami from the volcanic source. This tsunami was generated by th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masumi Yamada, Tung‐Cheng Ho, Jim Mori, Yasuhiro Nishikawa, Masa‐Yuki Yamamoto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2022-08-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098752
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Summary:Abstract The 2022 volcanic eruption in Tonga caused an unusually large tsunami around the Pacific. It travels with a faster apparent velocity and has larger amplitudes at long distances than what would be expected from a conventional tsunami from the volcanic source. This tsunami was generated by the moving atmospheric Lamb wave and traveled at the speed of the Lamb wave (0.31 km/s). Japanese data showed the amplitude of this first tsunami becomes small when approaching the coast, due to the weaker air‐sea coupling at the shallow depth. This wave split when passing the continental slope, and traveled at the speed of the ocean gravity wave. Therefore, the tsunami observed at the coast is delayed by thousands of seconds from the passage of the Lamb wave. Tsunamis generated by this atmospheric mechanism have not been previously observed by modern digital recording systems and should be considered in the tsunami warning systems.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007