ADRIATIC METEOTSUNAMI CATALOGUE

(27) Vela Luka, 29 October 2018

Figure 1. Synoptic situation at the time of the event: (left) mean sea level pressure and 10-m wind; (middle) temperature and wind at 850 hPa; (right) geopotential height and wind at 500 hPa.

According to the monthly report of the Croatian Meteorological and Hydrographic Service (DHMZ, 2018), during night hours of 29-30 October, a northeastward propagating cyclone which originated in the western Mediterranean crossed the Adriatic. An associated pressure drop and strong sirocco wind resulted in flooding of the middle and northern Adriatic: 4th highest Aqua Alta of the measurement period was recorded in Venice (Città di Venezia, Le acque alte eccezionali), 1st highest sea level of the measurement period was recorded in Bakar (GFZ, 2018), many harbors and boats suffered material damage and extreme waves were observed and recorded throughout the Adriatic (Vijesti RTL, 30/10/2018). Although there were no meteotsunami reports, available tide gauge data reveals that a weak meteotsunami occurred in Vela Luka between 20:00-24:00 UTC of 29 October. Maximum wave measured at tide gauge location had a height of 94.0 cm. Associated to this wave was maximum sea level of 63.4 cm recorded at 20:32 UTC, which was also time of a high tide. Mean period of waves was ~12 min.

Atmospheric and sea level component of the event were also numerically modelled using AdriSC modelling suite (using the Weather Research and Forecast model for the atmospheric component and ROMS/ADCIRC model for the ocean component), by Denamiel et al. (2019b). 

Surface synoptic situation was favorable for generation of storm surges in the northern Adriatic. A mid-latitude cyclone was centered over the western Europe, and strong sirroco wind (> 20 m/s), was blowing along the Adriatic Sea. At the 850 hPa height, tongue of warm air mass was spreading from the central Sahara, across the eastern Mediterranean to the southern Adriatic. As a result, an upper-level temperature front was present over the Adriatic Sea. At the 500 hPa level, a front side of a deep trough was located over the central Mediterranean and the Adriatic Sea. Associated upper-level winds reached speeds of more than 60 m/s.
Figure 2. Original and high-pass (T < 4h) sea-level time series measured at Vela Luka, and high-pass filtered (T < 4 h) air pressure time series measured at Vela Luka, all during Event 27.

Authorship and copyright

The first version of this online catalogue had been taken over from a paper published by Mirko Orlić (The first attempt at cataloguing tsunami-like waves of meteorological origin in Croatian coastal waters, Acta Adriatica, 56, 2015, 83-95). The online version was built by Jadranka Šepić and Mirko Orlić, and was hosted by the Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries from 2017 till 2022. 

Present version of the catalogue has been built by Jadranka Šepić and Mirko Orlić, with support of Hrvoje Mihanović (Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, Split), Iva Međugorac  and Iva Vrkić (both from Department of Geophysics, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb).  Catalogue is regularly updated, by taking into account and scrutinizing the additional information as it becomes available.

Contact

Jadranka Šepić
Faculty of Science, University of Split

jadranka.sepic@pmfst.hr

Useful links

SHExtreme project

StVar-Adri project

POZOR project

MESSI project

IOF sea level and air pressure measurements

 

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