Volcanoes can produce tsunamis through earthquakes, caldera and flank collapses, pyroclastic flows, or underwater explosions^1,2,3,4. These mechanisms rarely displace enough water to trigger transoceanic tsunamis. Violent volcanic explosions, however, can cause global tsunamis^1,5 by triggering acoustic-gravity waves^6,7,8 that excite the atmosphere-ocean interface. The colossal eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano and ensuing tsunami is the first global volcano-triggered tsunami recorded by modern, worldwide dense instrumentation, thus providing a unique opportunity to investigate the role of air-water coupling processes in tsunami generation and propagation. Here we use sea-level, atmospheric and satellite data from across the globe, along with numerical and analytical models, to demonstrate that this tsunami was driven by a constantly moving source in which the acoustic-gravity waves radiating from the eruption excite the ocean and transfer energy into it via resonance. A direct correlation between the tsunami and the acoustic-gravity waves’ arrival times confirms that these phenomena are closely linked. Our models also show that the unusually fast travel times and long duration of the tsunami, as well as its global reach, are consistent with an air-water coupled source. This coupling mechanism has clear hazard implications, since it leads to higher waves along landmasses that rise abruptly from long stretches of deep ocean waters.

火山可以通过地震、火山口和侧面塌陷、火山碎屑流或水下爆炸引发海啸^1,2,3,4 。这些机制很少会取代足够的水来引发跨洋海啸。然而，剧烈的火山爆发可能会通过触发激发大气-海洋界面的声重力波^6,7,8来引发全球海啸^1,5 。洪加汤加-洪加哈派火山的大规模喷发以及随之而来的海啸是现代全球密集仪器记录到的第一次全球火山引发的海啸，从而为研究空气-水耦合过程在海啸产生中的作用提供了独特的机会和传播。在这里，我们使用来自全球各地的海平面、大气和卫星数据，以及数值和分析模型，来证明这场海啸是由不断移动的源驱动的，在该源中，喷发辐射的声重力波激发海洋并产生海啸。通过共振将能量传递给它。海啸与声重力波到达时间之间的直接相关性证实了这些现象是密切相关的。我们的模型还表明，海啸的异常快速的传播时间和漫长的持续时间以及其全球影响力与空气-水耦合源一致。这种耦合机制具有明显的危险影响，因为它会导致陆地上的波浪从长长的深海水域突然上升。