SWOT detects dispersive tsunami tied to a near-trench source in the 2025 Kamchatka earthquake

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Source: Science Magazine

Original: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.aeb8634?af=R...

Published: 2026-03-26T06:00:07Z

The SWOT satellite captured a scattered tsunami triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off the coast of Kamchatka on July 29 or 30, 2025 at 11:25 a.m. local time[1][3][4]. This satellite, a collaboration between NASA and CNES, recorded the wave approximately 70 minutes after the shock in the open ocean[1][2]. SWOT data showed wave heights exceeding 0.45 meters in the darkest red areas, with higher sea levels in the orange and red bands and lower in the blue[1]. Observations have revealed the complex propagation, dispersion and dispersion of subduction tsunami waves with high resolution[3]. The inversion of data from the DART buoy showed a rupture approximately 400 km long with a maximum lift of 4 m, different from the seismic-geodetic model[3]. The combined source model best corresponds to SWOT, DART data and reconstructions of the 1952 earthquake in Kamchatka[3]. These findings confirm the value of satellite altimetry for tsunami source characterization and forecast improvement[1][3].