Small Scale phenomena in
Mediterranean and Adriatic
seas: Meteorological Tsunamis
EV2 Lafon Amaury
EV2 Macheboeuf Loïc
Contents
1. Meteorological tsunamis
2. Materials and Methods
2.1 Sea level to sea height
2.2 Detetecting event
3.3 Summary
3. Analysis
3.1 Sea level analysis
3.2 Sea height analysis
4. General events
5. General synoptics
5.1 Spain
5.2 Sicily
6. Specific events
Conclusion
What are the atmospheric processes
hold responsible for meteorological
tsunamis in the western part of the
Mediterranean Sea?
An atmospheric
disturbance
with quick
pressure jumps
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
Meteotsunamis
A set of two
resonances
(external and
internal
resonances)
a harbor, a bay
or an inlet with
the high Qfactor
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
• Area of study: Mediterranean Seas.
• 4 areas established upon geographical
considerations
Methods
2.1 Sea level to
sea height
2.2 Detetecting
event
3.3 Summary
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
A
B
D
C
• Pre-processing (overlapping and missing data, unrealistic
peaks, de-tided, linearly interpolated and 4-hour period
Keiser-Bessel window filtered)
• Sea height
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
2.1 Sea level to
sea height
2.2 Detetecting
event
3.3 Summary
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
Criteria of selection:
• Maximum height of event
• Duration of event
• At least 3 station have to record the event
84 tide gauge
stations
• Sea level downloaded from IOC sea level monitoring
website.
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
2.1 Sea level to 72 tide gauge • Multimodal correlation
stations used
sea height
2.2 Detetecting
event
3.3 Summary
3. Analysis
• multisite aggregation
36 possible events
4. General events
chosen
5. General synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
• Synoptic condition downloaded from ECMWF ERAinterim website
33 events
analyzed
• MSLP, 850hPa temperature, 500hPa wind and Richard
number
12
10
8
area A
N°
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
3.1 Sea level
analysis
3.2 Sea height
analysis
4. General events
5. General synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
area B
6
area C
area D
4
all stations
2
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
month
• Most of event in the Mediterranean Sea occurred during
summer time.
• One phenomenon is to be observed:
 Extreme peaks moves downtime as we go eastward.
N° of event
4
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
5
Name of stations
date
Catania
0,1492
Messina
0,1513
Crotone
0,0567
Otranto
Bari
27/03/2014
0,1487
0,1387
Ortona
0,2347
Taranto
0,1023
Porto empedocle
0,3548
Lampedusa
Palermo
11/04/2012
0,3364
0,1361
Napoli
0,2713
Centuri 2
0,0157
Solenzra2
0,2126
Ajaccio 2
0,0968
Ginostra (Isola di
Stromboli)
20/11/2013
Ortona
0,2347
Porto empedocle
0,3548
Ginostra (Isola di
Stromboli)
0,6765
Anzio
0,3638
0,6765
0,2083
Lampedusa
0,1156
Porto empedocle
0,2948
Solenzra2
0,307
Ajaccio 2
0,1152
Ile rousse 2
0,2068
Genova
Maximum height
0,1121
Palermo
Centuri 2
Station recording the
maximum height
0,484
nice
17
0,2297
Vieste
Centuri 2
13
Height recorded
04/07/2014
0,3021
0,1312
La Spezia
0,2162
Livorno
0,0127
Anzio
0,3638
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
 2 high-risk regions highlighted
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General
synoptics
5.1 Spain
5.2 Sicily
6. Specific events
Conclusion
Mean Synoptic Conditions
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General
synoptics
5.1 Spain
5.2 Sicily
6. Specific events
Conclusion
Mean Anomalies
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General
synoptics
5.1 Spain
5.2 Sicily
6. Specific events
Conclusion
Mean Synoptic Conditions
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General
synoptics
5.1 Spain
5.2 Sicily
6. Specific events
Conclusion
Mean Anomalies
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
1. Meteorological
tsunamis
2. Materials and
Methods
3. Analysis
4. General events
5. General
synoptics
6. Specific events
Conclusion
• Extreme peaks move downtime as we move to the East.
• Some differences between areas: change of MSLP,
depending of seasons.
• Same atmospheric processes that can lead to
meteorological tsunamis govern all the strongest events
and most of other high-frequency sea level oscillations
in the western part of the Mediterranean Sea:
Atmospheric Gravity Waves