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Observations of meteorological tsunamis along the south-west Australian coast

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  • Charitha Pattiaratchi
  • E. Wijeratne

Abstract

Tide gauge data were used to identify the occurrence, characteristics, and cause of tsunamis of meteorological origin (termed ‘meteotsunamis’) along the Western Australian coast. This is the first study to identify meteotsunamis in this region, and the results indicated that they occur frequently. Although meteotsunamis are not catastrophic to the extent of major seismically induced basin-scale events, the wave heights of meteotsunamis examined at some local stations in this study were higher than those recorded through seismic tsunamis. In June 2012, a meteotsunami contributed to an extreme water-level event at Fremantle, which recorded the highest water level in over 115 years. Meteotsunamis (wave heights >0.4 m, when the mean tidal range in the region is ~0.5 m) were found to coincide with thunderstorms in summer and the passage of low-pressure systems during winter. Spectral analysis of tide gauge time series records showed that existing continental seiche oscillations (periods between 30 min and 5 h) were enhanced during the meteotsunamis, with a high proportion of energy transferred to the continental shelf oscillation period. Three recent meteotsunami events (22 March 2010, 10 June 2012, and 7 January 2013) two due to summer thunderstorms and one due to a winter frontal system were chosen for detailed analysis. The meteotsunami amplitudes were up to a factor 2 larger than the local tidal range and sometimes contributed up to 85 % of the non-tidal water signal. A single meteorological event was found to generate several meteotsunamis along the coast, up to 500 km apart, as the air pressure disturbance propagated over the continental shelf; however, the topography and local bathymetry of the continental shelf defined the local sea-level resonance characteristics at each location. With the available data (sea level and meteorological), the exact mechanisms for the generation of the meteotsunamis could not be isolated. Copyright The Author(s) 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Charitha Pattiaratchi & E. Wijeratne, 2014. "Observations of meteorological tsunamis along the south-west Australian coast," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 74(1), pages 281-303, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:nathaz:v:74:y:2014:i:1:p:281-303
    DOI: 10.1007/s11069-014-1263-8
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Alexander Rabinovich & Sebastian Monserrat, 1998. "Generation of Meteorological Tsunamis (Large Amplitude Seiches) Near the Balearic and Kuril Islands," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 18(1), pages 27-55, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kathleen L. McInnes & Christopher J. White & Ivan D. Haigh & Mark A. Hemer & Ron K. Hoeke & Neil J. Holbrook & Anthony S. Kiem & Eric C. J. Oliver & Roshanka Ranasinghe & Kevin J. E. Walsh & Seth West, 2016. "Natural hazards in Australia: sea level and coastal extremes," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 69-83, November.
    2. Ivica Vilibić & Cléa Denamiel & Petra Zemunik & Sebastian Monserrat, 2021. "The Mediterranean and Black Sea meteotsunamis: an overview," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(2), pages 1223-1267, March.
    3. Ye Yu & Jiang-lin Li & Jin Xie & Chuan Liu, 2016. "Climatic characteristics of thunderstorm days and the influence of atmospheric environment in Northwestern China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 80(2), pages 823-838, January.
    4. Yang Wang & Xiaojing Niu & Zhengdong Yu & Xingyu Gao, 2021. "Numerical study on a possible cause of the ‘strange tide’ in the coastal area of Jiangsu Province, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(2), pages 1687-1701, March.
    5. Petra Zemunik & Angelo Bonanno & Salvatore Mazzola & Giovanni Giacalone & Ignazio Fontana & Simona Genovese & Gualtiero Basilone & Julio Candela & Jadranka Šepić & Ivica Vilibić & Salvatore Aronica, 2021. "Observing meteotsunamis (“Marrobbio”) on the southwestern coast of Sicily," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(2), pages 1337-1363, March.
    6. Myung-Seok Kim & Hyunmin Eom & Sung Hyup You & Seung-Buhm Woo, 2021. "Real-time pressure disturbance monitoring system in the Yellow Sea: pilot test during the period of March to April 2018," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(2), pages 1703-1728, March.
    7. Ye Yu & Jiang-lin Li & Jin Xie & Chuan Liu, 2016. "Climatic characteristics of thunderstorm days and the influence of atmospheric environment in Northwestern China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 80(2), pages 823-838, January.

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