Dataset Information

Diverse tsunamigenesis triggered by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption.

ABSTRACT: On the evening of 15 January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano¹ unleashed a violent underwater eruption, blanketing the surrounding land masses in ash and debris^2,3. The eruption generated tsunamis observed around the world. An event of this type last occurred in 1883 during the eruption of Krakatau⁴, and thus we have the first observations of a tsunami from a large emergent volcanic eruption captured with modern instrumentation. Here we show that the explosive eruption generated waves through multiple mechanisms, including: (1) air-sea coupling with the initial and powerful shock wave radiating out from the explosion in the immediate vicinity of the eruption; (2) collapse of the water cavity created by the underwater explosion; and (3) air-sea coupling with the air-pressure pulse that circled the Earth several times, leading to a global tsunami. In the near field, tsunami impacts are strongly controlled by the water-cavity source whereas the far-field tsunami, which was unusually persistent, can be largely described by the air-pressure pulse mechanism. Catastrophic damage in some harbours in the far field was averted by just tens of centimetres, implying that a modest sea level rise combined with a future, similar event would lead to a step-function increase in impacts on infrastructure. Piecing together the complexity of this event has broad implications for coastal hazards in similar geophysical settings, suggesting a currently neglected source of global tsunamis.

SUBMITTER: Lynett P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9472183 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Diverse tsunamigenesis triggered by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption.

Lynett Patrick P McCann Maile M Zhou Zili Z Renteria Willington W Borrero Jose J Greer Dougal D Fa'anunu Ofa O Bosserelle Cyprien C Jaffe Bruce B La Selle SeanPaul S Ritchie Andrew A Snyder Alexander A Nasr Brandon B Bott Jacqueline J Graehl Nicholas N Synolakis Costas C Ebrahimi Behzad B Cinar Gizem Ezgi GE

Nature 20220808 7928

On the evening of 15 January 2022, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano1 unleashed a violent underwater eruption, blanketing the surrounding land masses in ash and debris2,3. The eruption generated tsunamis observed around the world. An event of this type last occurred in 1883 during the eruption of Krakatau4, and thus we have the first observations of a tsunami from a large emergent volcanic eruption captured with modern instrumentation. Here we show that the e ...[more]

PMID: 35940206

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Project description:Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai had a large eruption (VEI 5-6) on 15 January 2022, which caused a tsunami recorded in all ocean basins. Costa Rica has made many advances in tsunami preparation over the past 9 years since the creation of SINAMOT (Sistema Nacional de Monitoreo de Tsunamis, National Tsunami Monitoring System), both on watch and warning protocols and on community preparedness. For the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai event, the government declared a low-threat warning, suspending all in-water activities, even though the country did not receive any official warning from PTWC (Pacific Tsunami Warning Center) due to the lack of procedures for tsunamis generated by volcanoes. The tsunami was observed at 24 locations on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts of Costa Rica, becoming the second most recorded tsunami in the country, after the 1991 Limon tsunami along the Caribbean coast. At 22 of those locations along the continental Pacific coast, observations were made by eyewitnesses, including one collocated with the sea level station at Quepos, which registered the tsunami. At Cocos Island (~ 500 km southwest of the continental Costa Rica, in the Pacific Ocean), several eyewitnesses reported the tsunami at two locations, and it was recorded at the sea level station. The tsunami was also recorded at the sea level station on the Caribbean coast. The tsunami effects reported were a combination of sea level fluctuations, strong currents, and coastal erosion, proving that the response actions were adequate for the size of the tsunami. Tsunami preparedness and the largest waves arriving during a dry season Saturday afternoon allowed the large number of eyewitness reports. This event then increased tsunami awareness in the country and tested protocols and procedures. Still, many people along the coast were not informed of the tsunami during the alert due to their remote location, the short notice of the warning, and a lack of procedures for some communities. There is thus still much work to do, particularly about warning dissemination, a direction in which communities should take an active role.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00445-023-01648-x.

Dataset Information

Diverse tsunamigenesis triggered by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption.

Publications

Diverse tsunamigenesis triggered by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption.

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