Characteristics of two tsunamis generated by successive M<sub>w</sub> 7.4 and M<sub>w</sub> 8.1 earthquakes in Kermadec Islands on March 4, 2021

Abstract. On March 4, 2021, two tsunamigenic earthquakes (Mw 7.4 and Mw 8.1) occurred successively within 2 h in Kermadec Islands. We examined sea level records at tide gauges located at ~100 km to ~2,000 km from the epicenters, conducted Fourier and Wavelet analyses as well as numerical modelling of both tsunamis. Fourier analyses indicated that the energy of the first tsunami is mainly distributed in the period range of 5–17 min, whereas it is 8–28 min for the second tsunami. Wavelet plots showed that the oscillation of the first tsunami continued even after the arrival of the second tsunami. As the epicenters of two earthquakes are close (~ 55 km), we reconstructed the source spectrum of the second tsunami by using the first tsunami as the empirical Green’s function. The main spectral peaks are 25.6 min, 16.0 min, and 9.8 min. The results are similar to those calculated using tsunami/background ratio method and also consistent with source models.