Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA.
Sci Rep. 2019 Feb 14;9(1):2105. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-38716-2.
A tragic drowning event occurred along southeastern beaches of Lake Michigan on a sunny and calm July 4, 2003, hours after a fast-moving convective storm had crossed the lake. Data forensics indicates that a moderate-height (~0.3 m) meteotsunami was generated by the fast-moving storm impacting the eastern coast of the lake. Detailed Nearshore Area (DNA) modeling forensics on a high-resolution spatial O(1 m) grid reveals that the meteotsunami wave generated unexpected rip currents, changing the nearshore condition from calm to hazardous in just a few minutes and lasting for several hours after the storm. Cross-comparison of rip current incidents and meteotsunami occurrence databases suggests that meteotsunamis present severe water safety hazards and high risks, more frequently than previously recognized. Overall, meteorological tsunamis are revealed as a new generation mechanism of rip currents, thus posing an unexpected beach hazard that, to date, has been ignored.
2003 年 7 月 4 日，一个阳光明媚、风平浪静的日子，一场强对流风暴迅速席卷密歇根湖南部海滩，随后发生了一起悲惨的溺水事件。数据分析表明，这场强对流风暴冲击湖面后产生了中等高度（约 0.3 米）的气象海啸。在高分辨率空间 O(1 米)网格上进行的详细近岸区域 (DNA) 建模分析显示，气象海啸产生了意想不到的激流，短短几分钟内就将近岸状况从平静变为危险，风暴过后持续了数小时。激流事件和气象海啸发生数据库的交叉比较表明，气象海啸带来了严重的水上安全危害和高风险，比之前认为的更为频繁。总的来说，气象海啸揭示了一种新的激流生成机制，因此构成了一种意料之外的海滩危害，迄今为止，这种危害一直被忽视。
