Meteotsunami Observed by the Deep‐Ocean Seafloor Pressure Gauge Network Off Northeastern Japan

Abstract

AbstractThis study reports an ocean‐bottom pressure gauge (OBP) network, S‐net, which captured meteotsunamis with amplitudes as small as a few cm, and investigates its validity and limitation for meteotsunami research studies through data analyses and numerical simulations. On July 1, 2020, S‐net recorded tsunami‐like signals, although no earthquake was reported. These waves, propagating northward with a velocity of ∼110 m/s, were explained by an atmospheric low pressure with a maximum amplitude of −0.5 ± 0.1 hPa moving northeastward at a speed of 45–50 m/s. The maximum amplitudes of the sea‐surface height during the low‐pressure passing were up to twice larger than those directly converted from the ocean‐bottom pressure without considering the effect of the atmospheric pressure. Our results suggest that the S‐net with numerical simulations can detect the generation and propagation of meteotsunamis, which could not be achieved in the past when dense OBP networks were not available.