The tiny Kingdom of Tonga experienced a massive underwater volcano eruption that sent a shock wave through Jacksonville and around the world twice.
Recommended Videos
Here’s another view of the atmospheric response to the Tonga eruption.
— Met4CastUK (@Met4CastUK) January 16, 2022
This one gives a much clearer view of the pressure wave. Very much like a ripple in a pond
📷 Matthew Barlow pic.twitter.com/gHojYqBu50
The 1 minute data from Sunday is now available and shows the east to west wave from the #Tongaeruption . This wave traveled the long way around the globe to arrive on the east coast. The scaling is the same from the first-wave lapse posted yesterday. #Free2Use https://t.co/vcdv2UqdHX pic.twitter.com/Wow9R21hDE
— daryl herzmann (@akrherz) January 17, 2022
The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano has blown several times in the past including as recently as 2015 but scientists say this is its largest eruption. Volcanologists are scrutinizing the January 15 eruption for possibly being the highest volcanic cloud since the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines.
How does a volcano get so explosive when it is underwater?
Even when temperatures are hotter than 2000°F water can cool down hot magma when it trickles out from a volcano. This is often the result in volcanoes around Hawaii and Iceland which contain basaltic magma that is relatively low in viscosity and in gas content.
This is not the case with the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano. Since it blasted into the water rapidly, hot magma in direct contact with cold water resulted in what scientists call “fuel-coolant interaction” which is just like a chemical explosion jetting out volcanic particles at supersonic speeds.
Further turbocharging the explosive power, this type of volcano involves more viscous magma with a higher gas content. That power pushed the ash plume extraordinarily high with a 160 mile wide diameter.
Volcanologists can’t determine if all the pressure has been released to limit additional volcanic threats.