It also released somewhere between 5 to 30 megatons (5 million to 30 million tonnes) of TNT equivalent, according to NASA Earth Observatory.ĭigital elevation maps from the NASA Earth Observatory also show the dramatic changes at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, the uppermost part of a large underwater volcano. It triggered a 7.4 magnitude earthquake, sending tsunami waves crashing into the island, leaving it covered in ash and cut off from outside help. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, an underwater volcano in the South Pacific, spewed debris as high as 25 miles into the atmosphere when it erupted on January 15. Yet one of the UK's leading volcanologists warned that the world is 'woefully' unprepared for such an event. ![]() The news comes after a report earlier this week revealed there is a one-in-six chance of a major volcanic eruption this century which could dramatically change the world's climate and put millions of lives in danger.Īn analysis of ice cores in Greenland and Antarctica by a team at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen found that a magnitude 7 volcanic eruption - 10 to 100 times bigger than the one in Tonga - is a distinct possibility for this century.Įruptions of this size in the past have caused abrupt climate change and the collapse of civilisations. 'This study highlights the potential of "citizen science" data for providing key scientific insights on the explosive power of volcanic eruptions.' 'This study shows that this powerful eruption also generated a spontaneous and global science project, bringing together enthusiasts and professionals openly sharing their valuable measurements from all corners of the planet for characterising the properties of this event. Helens and uncertainty in the height for Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha‘apai Visible error bars indicate the accepted range of values for Mount St. Jorge Diaz, a theoretical physicist and co-author of the study from Indiana University, added: 'On January 15 nature made us feel small triggering a large-scale event with tragic consequences.Įnergetic output of explosive eruptions estimated from plume height and Lamb-wave measurements. 'The Tonga volcanic eruption released energy equivalent to a magnitude 8.4 earthquake, and the pressure wave travelled several times around the globe.' 'The eruption was equivalent to around 61 Mt of TNT, whereas the Tsar Bomba released between 50-58 Mt,' said Dr Rigby. ![]() Weather enthusiasts in every continent began sharing screenshots of their measurements on social media, including location, local time of arrival of the Lamb wave, and pressure data.Īll of these are valuable sources of scientific information, which helped the researchers determine the size of the volcanic eruption. In comparison, earthquakes typically last for a few seconds to only a few minutes. Weather stations all over the world, including sites in London, Fife and the Scottish Highlands, registered the passing of a type of acoustic-gravity wave called a Lamb wave.ĭata from the sites shows how local atmospheric pressure suddenly increased with a pressure pulse, followed by a negative phase, before returning to ambient conditions that typically lasted for around 45 minutes. ![]() On 15 January 2022, the volcano at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Island erupted producing a devastating tsunami and volcanic plumes that reached the stratosphere.Īnother recent study revealed the explosion generated acoustic-gravity waves that reached the edge of space and were recorded by satellites and instruments across the globe, including in the UK.
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