Analysis of the destructive meteotsunami of 19 March 2017 at Dayyer, Southern Iran using tide gauge and satellite data
Abstract
On 19 March 2017, high destructive tsunami-like waves impacted the northern shore of the Persian Gulf (PG). The maximum wave height of about 3 m was observed at Dayyer in southern Iran. Here, the waves reached an inundation distance of 1 km and resulted in severe damage and the deaths of five people. A tide gauge located nearby recorded four distinct wave trains separated by intervals of 6-24 h. As the PG had always been considered safe from extreme oceanic waves, the event was totally unexpected. No earthquakes or landslides were reported at the time of the event, indicating that the event was due to atmospheric processes, i.e. was considered as a "meteorological tsunami". Analyses of the atmospheric data supports this assumption. In particular, the atmospheric situation over Saudi Arabia and the PG was similar to the one that caused a chain of strong meteotsunamis in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions on 23-27 June 2014. Moreover, examination of the approximately 40 high-resolution air pressure records from various countries located in this region revealed several intense atmospheric disturbances propagating over the PG on 17-22 March 2017. Comparative analysis of air pressure and sea level data and a series of numerical experiments reveals the resonant nature of the 2017 Dayyer event. In general, the event demonstrates the vulnerability of the PG coast to extreme, weather-induced tsunami-like waves.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMNH41C1010H
- Keywords:
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- 4315 Monitoring;
- forecasting;
- prediction;
- NATURAL HAZARDSDE: 4333 Disaster risk analysis and assessment;
- NATURAL HAZARDSDE: 4341 Early warning systems;
- NATURAL HAZARDSDE: 4564 Tsunamis and storm surges;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL