Phys.org June 13, 2022
The colossal eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and ensuing tsunami is the first global volcano-triggered tsunami recorded by modern, worldwide dense instrumentation, thus providing a unique opportunity to investigate the role of air-water coupling processes in tsunami generation and propagation. An international team of researcher (Portugal, UK, USA – Columbia University, Spain) used sea-level, atmospheric and satellite data from across the globe, along with numerical and analytical models, to demonstrate that this tsunami was driven by a constantly moving source in which the acoustic-gravity waves radiating from the eruption excite the ocean and transfer energy into it via resonance. A direct correlation between the tsunami and the acoustic-gravity waves’ arrival times confirmed that these phenomena are closely linked. Their models showed that the unusually fast travel times and long duration of the tsunami, and its global reach, are consistent with an air-water coupled source. This coupling mechanism has clear hazard implications..read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
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