Disaster

[D4-04] Meteotsunamis in a Danshui River estuary, Taiwan

*Liching Lin¹, Wen-Cheng Liu¹, Chin H. Wu² (1. Department of Civil and Disaster Prevention Engineering, National United University, Taiwan, 2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA)

Keywords:meteotsunamis, tide dominated estuaries, Proudman resonance

A 16 years meteotsunamis statistics indicated that meteotsunamis associated with cluster and frontal storms tended to occur frequently along the northwest coasts during the winter and early spring seasons. Notably, observations revealed that meteotsunamis not only propagated to the coastal areas but also extended into the Danshui River estuary. The following key findings were made: Firstly, it was observed that meteotsunamis could propagate up to 29 km within the river channel in 1.5 hours. Additionally, the maximum wave height recorded at the river mouth reached up to 0.6 meters. Secondly, an analysis of the spatial distribution of meteotsunami wave heights highlighted the higher risk associated with meteotsunamis in the Keelung River, one of the tributaries in the Danshui River estuary located in Taipei City. Finally, this study represents the first report of meteotsunamis in a tide-dominated river estuary, utilizing 16 years of water level data collected from over 30 stations. Results contribute to a better understanding of meteotsunami dynamics and highlight the importance of considering meteotsunamis in coastal and riverine risk assessments.