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Wave Created by Tonga Volcano Eruption Reached 90 Metres - Nine Times Taller Than 2011 Japan Tsunami
New research reveals more about the magnitude of January eruption, as researchers call for better preparedness [bath.ac.uk]:
The initial tsunami wave created by the eruption of the underwater Hunga Tonga Ha'apai volcano in Tonga in January 2022 reached 90 metres in height, around nine times taller than that from the highly destructive 2011 Japan tsunami, new research has found.
An international research team says the eruption should serve as a wake-up call for international groups looking to protect people from similar events in future, claiming that detection and monitoring systems for volcano-based tsunamis are '30 years behind' comparable tools used to detect earthquake-based events.
[...] By comparison, the largest tsunami waves due to earthquakes before the Tonga event were recorded following the Tōhoku earthquake near Japan in 2011 and the 1960 Chilean earthquake, reaching 10 metres in initial height. Those were more destructive as they happened closer to land, with waves that were wider.
[...] The research team found that the tsunami was unique as the waves were created not only by the water displaced by the volcano's eruption, but also by huge atmospheric pressure waves, which circled around the globe multiple times. This 'dual mechanism' created a two-part tsunami – where initial ocean waves created by the atmospheric pressure waves were followed more than one hour later by a second surge created by the eruption's water displacement.
[...] The research team also found that the January event was among very few tsunamis powerful enough to travel around the globe – it was recorded in all world's oceans and large seas from Japan and the United States' western seaboard in the North Pacific Ocean to the coasts within the Mediterranean Sea.
Journal Reference:
Mohammad Heidarzadeh, Aditya Riadi Gusman, Takeo Ishibe, et al., Estimating the eruption-induced water displacement source of the 15 January 2022 Tonga volcanic tsunami from tsunami spectra and numerical modelling [open], Ocean Engineering, 261, 2022. DOI: 10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.112165 [doi.org]
