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Enigmatic tsunami waves amplified by repetitive source events in the southwest of Torishima Island, Japan
  • +3
  • Osamu Sandanbata,
  • Kenji Satake,
  • Shunsuke Takemura,
  • Shingo Watada,
  • Takuto Maeda,
  • Tatsuya Kubota
Osamu Sandanbata
Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Kenji Satake
University of Tokyo
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Shunsuke Takemura
Earthquake Research Institute, the University of Tokyo
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Shingo Watada
University of Tokyo
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Takuto Maeda
Hirosaki University
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Tatsuya Kubota
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Abstract

On 9 October 2023 (JST), mysterious tsunamis with a maximum wave height of 60 cm were observed in Izu Islands and southwestern Japan, although only seismic events of body-wave magnitudes mb 4–5 have been documented in the southwest of Torishima Island. To investigate the source process, we analyze tsunami waveforms recorded by an array network of ocean-bottom pressure gauges. A stacked waveform of 16 records suggests recurrent arrivals of multiple wave trains. Deconvolution of the stacked waveform by a tsunami waveform from the first event revealed over 10 source events that intermittently generated tsunamis for ~1.5 hours. The temporal history of this sequence corresponds to the origin times of T-phases estimated by an ocean-bottom seismometer, and the mb 4–5 seismic swarm, implying a common origin. Larger events later in the sequence occurred at intervals comparable to the tsunami wave period, causing amplification of later phases of the tsunami waves.