. 24/7 Space News .
SHAKE AND BLOW
Massive eruption of Tongan volcano provides an explosion of data
by Staff Writers
Santa Barbara CA (SPX) May 13, 2022

Just before nightfall reached Tonga, the Hunga eruption (lower left) sent atmospheric waves around the globe. The atmospheric waves generated by the Hunga, Tonga eruption from the analysis performed in the paper on the 6.2 micron channel superimposed on the true color composition from GOES-17 geostationary satellite (background image composition generated with satpy).

The Hunga volcano ushered in 2022 with a bang, devastating the island nation of Tonga and sending aid agencies, and Earth scientists, into a flurry of activity. It had been nearly 140 years since an eruption of this scale shook the Earth.

UC Santa Barbara's Robin Matoza led a team of 76 scientists, from 17 nations, to characterize the eruption's atmospheric waves, the strongest recorded from a volcano since the 1883 Krakatau eruption. The team's work, compiled in an unusually short amount of time, details the size of the waves originating from the eruption, which the authors found were on par with those from Krakatau. The data also provides exceptional resolution of the evolving wavefield compared to what was available from the historic event.

The paper, published in the journal Science, is the first comprehensive account of the eruption's atmospheric waves.

Early evidence suggests that an eruption Jan. 14 sunk the volcano's main vent below sea level, priming the massive explosion the following day. The Jan. 15 eruption generated a variety of different atmospheric waves, including booms heard 6,200 miles away in Alaska. It also created a pulse that caused the unusual occurrence of a tsunami-like disturbance an hour before the actual seismically driven tsunami began.

"This atmospheric waves event was unprecedented in the modern geophysical record," said lead author Matoza, an associate professor at UC Santa Barbara's Department of Earth Science.

The Hunga volcanic eruption has provided unprecedented insight into the behavior of a variety of atmospheric wave types. "The atmospheric waves were recorded globally across a wide frequency band," said co-author David Fee at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. "And by studying this remarkable dataset we will better understand acoustic and atmospheric wave generation, propagation and recording.

"This has implications for monitoring nuclear explosions, volcanoes, earthquakes and a variety of other phenomena," Fee continued. "Our hope is that we will be better able to monitor volcanic eruptions and tsunamis by understanding the atmospheric waves from this eruption."

The researchers were most interested in the behavior of an atmospheric wave known as a Lamb wave, which is the dominant pressure wave produced by the eruption. These are longitudinal pressure waves, much like sound waves, but of particularly low frequency. Such low frequency, in fact, that the effects of gravity must be taken into account. Lamb waves are associated with the largest atmospheric explosions, such as large eruptions and nuclear detonations, though the wave characteristics differ between these two sources. They can last from minutes to several hours.

After the eruption, the waves traveled along Earth's surface and circled the planet in one direction four times and in the opposite direction three times, the authors recorded. This was the same as scientists observed in the 1883 Krakatau eruption. The Lamb wave also reached into Earth's ionosphere, rising at 700 mph to an altitude of about 280 miles.

"Lamb waves are rare. We have very few high-quality observations of them," Fee said. "By understanding the Lamb wave, we can better understand the source and eruption. It is linked to the tsunami and volcanic plume generation and is also likely related to the higher-frequency infrasound and acoustic waves from the eruption."

The Lamb wave consisted of at least two pulses near the volcano. The first had a seven- to 10-minute pressure increase followed by a second and larger compression and subsequent long pressure decrease.

A major difference between the accounts of Hunga's Lamb waves versus Krakatau's is the amount and quality of data scientists were able to gather. "We have more than a century of advances in instrumentation technology and global sensor density," Matoza said. "So the 2022 Hunga event provided an unparalleled global dataset for an explosion event of this size."

Scientists noted other findings about atmospheric waves associated with the eruption, including remarkable long-range infrasound - sounds too low in frequency to be heard by humans. Infrasound arrived after the Lamb wave and was followed by audible sounds in some regions.

Audible sounds reached Alaska, about 6,200 miles from the volcano, where they were heard around the state as repeated booms. "I heard the sounds," Fee recalled, "but at the time definitely did not think it was from a volcanic eruption in the South Pacific."

The scientists believe the sounds heard in Alaska couldn't have originated in Hunga. While there's still much to learn, it's clear that standard sound models cannot explain how audible sounds propagated over such extreme distances. "We interpreted that they were generated somewhere along the path by nonlinear effects," Matoza explained.

"There is a long list of possible follow-up studies examining the many different aspects of these signals in more detail," he said. "As a community, we will be working further on this event for years."

Research Report:Atmospheric waves and global seismoacoustic observations of the January 2022 Hunga eruption, Tonga


Related Links
University of California - Santa Barbara
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
When the Earth Quakes
A world of storm and tempest


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


SHAKE AND BLOW
Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption confirmed as biggest bang since Krakatoa
Reading UK (SPX) May 13, 2022
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga volcano earlier this year has been confirmed as the biggest explosion ever recorded in the atmosphere. New research published in the journal Science has shown the volcano in the South Pacific created an explosion bigger than anything else ever recorded by modern geophysical equipment. The explosion on 15 January 2022 was significantly larger than every atmospheric nuclear bomb test, meteor explosion and volcanic eruption in history, including Mt. St. Helens in ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

SHAKE AND BLOW
Engineers investigating Voyager 1 telemetry data

What you need to know about NASA's Boeing Orbital Flight Test-2

Blue Origin delays next flight over technical issues

Boeing's Starliner spaceship docks with ISS in high-stakes test mission

SHAKE AND BLOW
Dawn Aerospace wins Blue Canyon's X-SAT Saturn-Class propulsion business

ISRO tests large human rated solid rocket booster for the Gaganyaan program

Gilmour Space completes full duration test fire of new Phoenix rocket engine

Boeing's troubled Starliner launches for ISS in key test

SHAKE AND BLOW
Everyone wants a piece of this Pie - Sols 3478-3479

Physicists explain how type of aurora on Mars is formed

Mars' emitted energy and seasonal energy imbalance

China's Zhurong rover switches to dormant mode in severe Martian dust storm

SHAKE AND BLOW
Tianwen-1 mission marks first year on Mars

New cargo spacecraft being built

The beginning of a multi-spacecraft exploration in Martian space by China, the US and Europe

China's cargo craft docks with space station combination

SHAKE AND BLOW
ESA spurs investment in space entrepreneurs

Australian Uni and SSC sign MoU to strengthen space capabilities in Australia and Sweden

Spire Global to launch five satellites on SpaceX Transporter-5 Mission

Why the Space-as-a-Service Business Models are Taking the Space Sector by Storm

SHAKE AND BLOW
The European Innovation Council supports E.T. PACK-Fly, a project to mitigate space debris

Ultracold Bubbles on Space Station Open New Avenues of Quantum Research

The missing piece to faster, cheaper and more accurate 3D mapping

Preparation for LizzieSat-1 Mission continues as NASA customer completes important milestone

SHAKE AND BLOW
The search for how life on Earth transformed from simple to complex

Seeing through the fog-pinpointing young stars and their protoplanetary disks

The origin of life: A paradigm shift

Researchers reveal the origin story for carbon-12, a building block for life

SHAKE AND BLOW
Traveling to the centre of planet Uranus

Juno captures moon shadow on Jupiter

Greenland Ice, Jupiter Moon Share Similar Feature

Search for life on Jupiter moon Europa bolstered by new study









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.