The eruption of the Hengja Tonga-Hung Hapai volcano undersea on January 15, 40 miles (65 km) north of Tonga’s capital, triggered tsunamis and sonic booms that rippled around the world twice.
The explosion sent a long eruption of water vapor into the stratosphere, 8 to 33 miles (12 to 53 kilometers) above the surface. According to a revelation from NASA satellites, the water was enough to fill 58,000 Olympic-sized pools.
It was detected by the microwave rimsounder aboard NASA’s Aura satellite. Satellites measure water vapor, ozone, and other atmospheric gases. After the volcano erupted, scientists were amazed by the water vapor readings.
They estimate that the volcanic eruption carried 146 teragrams of water into the stratosphere. One teragram equals one trillion grams, in this case 10% of the water already in the stratosphere.
This is almost four times the amount of water vapor that reached the stratosphere after the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.
“We’ve never seen anything like this before,” said study author Luis Millan, an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. I had to carefully check all the measurements on the shaft to make sure.”
earth observation
Microwave rimsounders can measure and detect natural microwave signals from the Earth’s atmosphere, even in thick volcanic ash clouds.
“MLS was the only instrument with a dense enough coverage to capture the plume of water vapor it generated and the only instrument that was not affected by the ash emitted by the volcano,” Millan said. I’m here.
The Ora satellite was launched in 2004 and since then has measured only two volcanic eruptions that released large amounts of water vapor into the atmosphere. However, the 2008 Casatochi event in Alaska and the water vapor from the Calbuco eruption in Chile in 2015 dissipated fairly quickly.
The Tonga eruption was different because the water vapor released into the atmosphere could trap heat and cause elevated surface temperatures. Excess water vapor can remain in the stratosphere for years, researchers say.
Additional water vapor in the stratosphere can also trigger chemical reactions that temporarily contribute to the destruction of Earth’s protective ozone layer.
eruption anatomy
Fortunately, the warming effect of water vapor is expected to be small and temporary, dissipating as excess water vapor diminishes. Researchers believe it will not be enough to exacerbate the current conditions caused by the climate crisis.
Researchers believe the large amount of water vapor is primarily due to the volcano’s caldera being 490 feet (150 meters) below sea level.
Too deep, the depth of the ocean dampened the eruption, and too shallow, the amount of seawater heated by the rising magma did not match the amount reaching the stratosphere, the researchers say.
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