Meteorological Analysis of a Meteo-tsunami caused by a High Pressure System during Winter on the Yellow Sea, South Korea: A Case Study of 21 December 2005
Meteo-tsunamis are tsunamis that are typically caused by strong atmospheric instability (e.g., pressure jumps) in low pressure systems, but some meteo-tsunamis in winter can be caused by local atmospheric instability in high pressure systems (e.g., the Siberian High). In this study, we investigated a meteo-tsunami event related to a high pressure system that occurred during winter on the Yellow Sea in 2005. Sea level data from tidal stations were analyed with a high-pass filter, and we also performed synoptic weather analyses by using various synoptic weather data (e.g., surface weather charts) collected during the winter season(DJF) of 2005. A numerical weather model (WRF) was used to analyze the atmospheric instability on the day of the selected event (21 Dec. 2005). On the basis of the results, we suggest that the meteo-tsunami triggered by the high pressure system occurred because of dynamic atmospheric instability induced by the expansion and contraction of the Siberian High.