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Satellite Captures Tsunami in Unprecedented Detail, Revealing Unexpected Wave Breakup

SWOT, a NASA/CNES satellite launched in 2022, captured a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake near the Kuril–Kamchatka zone on 29 July 2025 with unprecedented spatial detail. Combining SWOT data with three DART buoys, researchers observed the tsunami fragment into a large leading wave followed by smaller trailing waves — a departure from the usual assumption that big tsunamis remain a single, non-dispersive front. The result suggests wide-swath satellites can reveal complex tsunami structure and could help improve near-real-time detection and warning systems.

10:03 AM, 12/03/2025Science
Satellite Captures Tsunami in Unprecedented Detail, Revealing Unexpected Wave Breakup

On 29 July 2025, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake ruptured the Kuril–Kamchatka subduction zone off Russia's southeastern coast, launching a tsunami across the Pacific. By chance, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) satellite — a NASA/CNES mission launched in 2022 — passed overhead and recorded the event with unprecedented resolution.

SWOT was designed to map the height of the world's surface waters using advanced radar interferometry. Instead of the narrow, point-based measurements provided by buoys, SWOT images a swath of ocean up to about 120 kilometers (75 miles) wide, revealing sea-surface structure across a broad area.

Researchers combined SWOT measurements with time-series data from three Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) buoys in the region to reconstruct how the tsunami propagated and scattered. The combined dataset produced a more detailed picture than previously possible.

Unexpected fragmentation

Conventional models often treat large tsunamis as largely non-dispersive — a single coherent front that travels long distances without breaking apart. The observations from SWOT challenge that assumption for this event. Instead of a single, uniform surge, the tsunami appeared to fragment: a relatively large leading wave was followed by smaller trailing waves.

That breakup could arise from several factors, including complex rupture dynamics of the earthquake source, interactions with variable seafloor bathymetry, and frequency-dependent wave propagation. The study's authors emphasize that more events and modeling work are needed to determine the dominant causes.

"I think of SWOT data as a new pair of glasses," said Angel Ruiz-Angulo, the study's first author and a physical oceanographer at the University of Iceland. "Earlier instruments sampled the ocean at isolated points or traced only a thin line across a tsunami. SWOT lets us see the full structure across a wide swath."

Beyond improving scientific understanding, these observations have practical implications. Wide-swath satellites like SWOT could augment existing buoy networks and seismic warnings to help detect and track tsunamis in near real time, potentially improving lead times and accuracy for coastal alerts.

The findings are reported in the journal The Seismic Record. The researchers note that continued satellite coverage, expanded in-situ measurements, and improved numerical models will be essential to translate these insights into better forecasting and warning systems.

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