caused by the Tonga explosion were also influenced by a pressure wave hundreds of kilometers wide released into the atmosphere. The atmospheric pressure wave first moved upwards and then spread outward traveling at 1,141 km/h on average, about 400km/h faster than a regular tsunami can travel inIt traveled around the Earth causing waves as far away as the Mediterranean Sea."This was the first event of its kind recorded in detail by modern instruments," Prof.
As the atmospheric wave travels above the ocean, it displaces the body of water underneath, creating waves that travel faster than a regular tsunami."Normally, a tsunami wave created in the Pacific would not reach the Mediterranean because it would have to travel around land masses to get there, but atmospheric waves are not restricted, traveling over those
The scientists used measurements from the Tonga event to validate their model and used a state-of-the-art code,, co-developed by Dr. Nicolas Alferez at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers in Paris, France, to rapidly simulate the Earth during the event using the supercomputer at OIST. The code allows them to create simulations in fine resolution, faster thanProf.