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The Yellow Sea is recognized as a meteotsunami "hot-spot", with a relatively high rate of events' occurrence. The March 2007 and May 2008 meteotsunami events attracted large attention due to their deadly and high impact on the west coast of the Korean Peninsula. However, other small size meteotsunamis remain less known because of their insignificant coastal effect. Yet, a better understanding of meteotsunami hazard in the Yellow Sea can be achieved through investigation of both large and small events. This paper reveals the occurrence of a meteotsunami on 11–12 June 2009 in the eastern Yellow Sea, and addresses the analyses of the sea-level and air-pressure data, the meteotsunami genesis mechanism by the atmospheric forcing, and the numerical modeling of meteotsunami propagation. Analysis results evidence that a moving air-pressure jump of about 3 hPa disturbed the sea surface and induced a meteotsunami with wave height up to 0.45 m (crest-to-trough) which were observed at the Janghang (JH) station. Both meteorological observations and numerical modeling support a speed of 11–13 m/s for the atmospheric disturbance propagation, which is smaller than the optimal condition for Proudman resonance of meteotsunamis in the eastern Yellow Sea. Here, we demonstrate that the Greenspan resurgence was responsible for the tsunami-like waves. This study unravels new insights into the formation, amplification, and hazard extent of small size meteotsunamis in the eastern Yellow Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Polar Front in the Japan/East Sea separates the southern warm water region from the northern cold water region. A merged TOPEX/POSEIDON and ERS-1/2 altimeter dataset and upper water temperature data were used to determine the frontal location and to examine the structure of its interannual variability from 1993 to 2001. The identified frontal location, where sea surface height gradient has a maximum about 10–20 cm over the horizontal distance of 100 km, corresponds well to the maximum subsurface horizontal temperature gradient. The front migrates more widely (36°N–41°N) in the western part of the sea than in the eastern part. The interannual migration induces large variability in upper water temperatures and sea surface height in the western region. Responsible physical mechanisms were studied using a reduced-gravity model. Differences between inflow and outflow change the total volume of warm water, and total warm water volume change in the warm water region uniformly pushes the front in the meridional direction across its mean position in the model simulation. Interannual variation of wind stress causes relatively wide migration of the modeled front in the western part. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]