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 co

SUBMITTER: Lynett P 

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

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature