Phys.org September 19, 2022
Using state-of-the-art observational data and computer simulations an international team of researchers (Japan, USA -University of Hawaii) discovered the existence of Pekeris waves—fluctuations in air pressure that were theorized in 1937 but never proven to occur in nature, till after the Tonga eruption. The atmospheric wave pattern close to the eruption was quite complicated, but thousands of miles away the disturbances were led by an isolated wave front traveling horizontally at more than 650 miles per hour as it spread outward. The air pressure perturbations associated with the initial wave front were seen clearly on thousands of barometer records throughout the world. When they investigated the computer simulated and observed pulses over the entire Pacific basin, they found that the slower wave front could be seen over broad regions and that its properties matched those predicted by Pekeris almost a century ago…read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE