Screenshot of a simulated tsunami animation

Screenshot of an idealized animation of tsunamis produced by the 15 January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai volcano in the Kingdom of Tonga. View to the north-northeast. The fastest water wave to radiate away from the eruption is being pushed by an atmospheric wave triggered by the explosion. The water wave grows bigger (amplification) over the deep Tonga Trench, then decouples from the atmospheric wave on the east side of the trench, creating a series of new, decoupled waves. Together, the coupled and decoupled waves constitute a meteotsunami. Far behind them, the “classic” tsunami is produced by seafloor changes displacing a large volume of water during the eruption.