Open AccessSource of the 2007 Ist meteotsunami (Adriatic Sea)
Author(s) -
Šepić Jadranka,
Vilibić Ivica,
Belušić Danijel
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2008jc005092
Subject(s) - geology , bay , gravity wave , surface pressure , disturbance (geology) , wind speed , atmospheric sciences , atmospheric pressure , climatology , oceanography , gravitational wave , geomorphology , physics , astrophysics
Široka Bay on the island of Ist in the northern Adriatic was struck by a severe inundation around 1530 UTC on 22 August 2007. The maximum wave height reached 4 m, and substantial material damage was induced. This paper investigates the generating force of the inundation. Data analysis indicates that the inundation was provoked through a double resonance mechanism, with initiation by a pronounced atmospheric disturbance that generated open ocean waves through the Proudman resonance. The waves were then further amplified inside the affected bay. The air pressure disturbance, which propagated at a speed of about 21–24 m s −1 over the northern Adriatic shelf, was investigated through both data analysis and atmospheric numerical modeling. Apparently, the air pressure disturbance was a surface manifestation of a ducted gravity wave, which propagated through the atmosphere from the Apennines to the eastern Adriatic coast over the northern Adriatic. According to the model simulation, the wave was trapped in a stable layer adjacent to the ground, which was capped by a dynamically unstable layer with wind speeds of about 22 m s −1 . This made the unstable layer also a critical layer for gravity waves propagating with the same speed and allowed for their ducting in the layer below.