When the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai erupted off Tonga in January 2022, it became the largest eruption ever recorded using modern technology.
The explosion, estimated to be hundreds of times stronger than the Hiroshima nuclear explosion, was heard in Alaska, more than 10,000 kilometers away. A plume of ash, smoke and volcanic matter shot 58 kilometers into the air, and hurricane-speed winds were reported in Earth’s upper atmospheric layer at the edge of space.
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And then came the waves: tsunami warnings were issued in neighboring Pacific islands Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu, as well as further afield in New Zealand, Japan, Peru, the United States and Canada. The ensuing tsunami devastated Tonga with waves up to 15 meters high, killing three people and causing an estimated $90.4 million in damage.
Now, a team of researchers has completed the most thorough investigation to date into the event, confirming that nearly 10 square kilometers of seafloor has been displaced – the equivalent of 2.6 million Olympic swimming pools and a third more than estimates. initials.
However, they found that only three-quarters of that material was deposited in an area within 20 kilometers of the volcano, leaving a sizable chunk missing. New Zealand’s National Institute for Water and Atmosphere Research (NIWA), which conducted the survey, believes this stray debris can be partially explained by “air loss”, which is why it wasn’t noticed until detailed mapping work was done. concluded. The material was shot into the sky and stayed in the atmosphere, circling for months, explaining why it wasn’t on the sea floor.
But it’s still unclear to researchers exactly why the eruption was so explosive.
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