How successive meteotsunami and storm activity disrupts saltmarsh vegetation.

Meteotsunami or meteorological tsunamis are globally occurring progressive shallow water waves with a period of between 2 to 120 minutes which result from an air-sea interaction. Meteotsunami are initiated by sudden pressure changes and wind stress from moving atmospheric systems. These waves are known to cause destruction to assets with injury and fatality to human life. Currently, there is no research into the impact upon ecological assets.

This presentation outlines the impact of two meteotsunami events (2016 and 2021) on an intertidal saltmarsh ecosystem in the southwestern UK. By utilizing satellite imagery and applying Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) an assessment was carried out on vegetation before and after each event against a baseline 10-year mean. Results revealed that the 2016 meteotsunami resulted in a minimal impact upon vegetation, suggesting a potential resilience or adaptive response to a single episodic disturbance. In contrast, the 2021 event, compounded by two significant storms and multiple additional meteotsunami, led to a notable decline in NDVI values, indicating a likely short-term disruption to vegetation. Recovery appeared to be rapid (within one to three months.)

This comparative analysis underscores the complex interactions between meteotsunami events, climatic phenomena, and coastal vegetation dynamics, highlighting the necessity for ongoing monitoring and research to understand the resilience mechanisms of such ecosystems in the face of increasing climatic variability and extreme weather events.