According to a study published in the journal Ocean Engineering, the initial tsunami wave from Tonga’s volcanic eruption in January was 90 meters high , about nine times larger than the tsunami generated by the 2011 Pacific earthquake off the coast of Tohoku, Japan. The research was conducted by analyzing oceanographic data records of atmospheric pressure changes and sea-level oscillations, combined with computer simulations validated with real-world data. The team found that the tsunami generated by Tonga’s volcanic eruption is unique in that it was formed not only by water expelled from the eruption, but also by huge waves of pressure that circled the Earth multiple times. This “dual mechanism” created a two-part tsunami – an initial wave created by a wave of atmospheric pressure, and a second wave created more than an hour later by the displacement of water from the volcanic eruption.
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