Diverse tsunamigenesis triggered by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption

Patrick Lynett (), Maile McCann, Zili Zhou, Willington Renteria, Jose Borrero, Dougal Greer, Ofa Fa’anunu, Cyprien Bosserelle, Bruce Jaffe, SeanPaul La Selle, Andrew Ritchie, Alexander Snyder, Brandon Nasr, Jacqueline Bott, Nicholas Graehl, Costas Synolakis, Behzad Ebrahimi and Gizem Ezgi Cinar
Additional contact information
Patrick Lynett: University of Southern California
Maile McCann: University of Southern California
Zili Zhou: University of Southern California
Willington Renteria: University of Southern California
Jose Borrero: University of Southern California
Dougal Greer: eCoast Marine Consulting and Research
Ofa Fa’anunu: Tonga Meteorological Service
Cyprien Bosserelle: New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmosphere
Bruce Jaffe: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
SeanPaul La Selle: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Andrew Ritchie: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Alexander Snyder: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Brandon Nasr: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Jacqueline Bott: California Geological Survey
Nicholas Graehl: California Geological Survey
Costas Synolakis: University of Southern California
Behzad Ebrahimi: University of Southern California
Gizem Ezgi Cinar: University of Southern California

Nature, 2022, vol. 609, issue 7928, 728-733

Abstract: 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 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 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.

Date: 2022
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05170-6

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