The Mediterranean and Black Sea meteotsunamis: an overview

Abstract

This paper presents the first comprehensive review of the Mediterranean and Black Sea meteorological tsunamis or meteotsunamis (atmospherically induced destructive long ocean waves in the tsunami frequency band) based on the available literature, tools and services. The Mediterranean and Black Seas are micro-tidal basins; therefore, rapid sea level changes in the tsunami frequency band may strongly affect coastal regions and infrastructures and endanger human lives. The review also includes a succinct bibliography of Mediterranean and Black Sea meteotsunami papers and evaluates their structure in respect to geographical extent, the type of tools used (observations versus modelling) and source processes in the atmosphere versus ocean manifestations. This review continues with a presentation of major meteotsunami events and a discussion about their sources, the resonant transfer of energy towards the sea, their propagation towards shore and their interactions with bathymetry. Meteotsunami monitoring and forecasting systems are overviewed with respect to available observations, deterministic and stochastic modelling tools and operational early warning networks. This review includes an important assessment of operational and research gaps and ideas for improving research tools and understanding of various aspects of meteotsunamis. The authors believe and hope that this review will help researchers and services to increase or improve their capacities and skills for conducting better research on meteotsunamis, not just in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, but in all ocean basins around the world affected by this destructive and dangerous phenomenon.