On the Greenspan resurgence of meteotsunamis in the Yellow Sea—insights from the newly discovered 11–12 June 2009 event

The Yellow Sea is recognized as a meteotsunami “hot-spot”, with a relatively high rate of events’ occurrence. The March 2007 and May 2008 meteotsunami events attracted large attention due to their deadly and high impact on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. However, other small size meteotsunamis remain less known because of their insignificant coastal effect. Yet, a better understanding of meteotsunami hazard in the Yellow Sea can be achieved through investigation of both large and small events. This paper reveals the occurrence of a meteotsunami on 11–12 June 2009 in the eastern Yellow Sea, and addresses the analyses of the sea-level and air-pressure data, the meteotsunami genesis mechanism by the atmospheric forcing, and the numerical modeling of meteotsunami propagation. Analysis results evidence that a moving air-pressure jump of about 3 hPa disturbed the sea surface and induced a meteotsunami with wave height up to 0.45 m (crest-to-trough) which were observed at the Janghang (JH) station. Both meteorological observations and numerical modeling support a speed of 11–13 m/s for the atmospheric disturbance propagation, which is smaller than the optimal condition for Proudman resonance of meteotsunamis in the eastern Yellow Sea. Here, we demonstrate that the Greenspan resurgence was responsible for the tsunami-like waves. This study unravels new insights into the formation, amplification, and hazard extent of small size meteotsunamis in the eastern Yellow Sea.