Abstract
A long-term time series of high-frequency sampled sea-level data collected in the port of Genoa were analyzed to detect the occurrence of meteotsunami events and to characterize them. Time-frequency analysis showed well-developed energy peaks on a 26–30 minute band, which are an almost permanent feature in the analyzed signal. The amplitude of these waves is generally few centimeters but, in some cases, they can reach values comparable or even greater than the local tidal elevation. In the perspective of sea-level rise, their assessment can be relevant for sound coastal work planning and port management. Events having the highest energy were selected for detailed analysis and the main features were identified and characterized by means of wavelet transform. The most important one occurred on 14 October 2016, when the oscillations, generated by an abrupt jump in the atmospheric pressure, achieved a maximum wave height of 50 cm and lasted for about three hours.
Highlights
Tsunami is the Japanese name for the long barotropic waves generated by strong earthquakes, which can be responsible for damages and casualties when they reach the coast
A long-term time series of high-frequency sampled sea-level data collected in the port of Genoa were analyzed to detect the occurrence of meteotsunami events and to characterize them
Tsunami’s long waves have the same periods—between few minutes and few hours—and characteristics of tsunamis can be generated by travelling atmospheric disturbances, such as squalls, thunderstorms, frontal passages, and atmospheric gravity waves, the name “meteotsunamis” [6,7,8]
Summary
Tsunami is the Japanese name for the long barotropic waves generated by strong earthquakes, which can be responsible for damages and casualties when they reach the coast. Tsunami’s long waves have the same periods—between few minutes and few hours—and characteristics of tsunamis can be generated by travelling atmospheric disturbances, such as squalls, thunderstorms, frontal passages, and atmospheric gravity waves, the name “meteotsunamis” [6,7,8]. They can be amplified under several resonance conditions as described in [6]. In the case of “Proudman resonance,“ [10,11] the propagation speed of the travelling disturbance must equal the phase speed of long ocean waves (i.e. the Froud Number is 1). As pointed out by Monserrat et al [13], identifying the generation mechanism and resonance process of meteotsunamis is not a trivial task, and requires accurate a high-frequency observation network of meteorological parameters
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