Record-breaking, The volcanic activity in Tonga was responsible for the world's most rapid wave propagation in the atmosphere.

The month of January saw an eruption from the Hunga volcano.

 

The enormous blast that was caused by the underwater volcano Tonga in the Pacific earlier this year unleashed an explosion that was so powerful that it sent gigantic pressure waves coursing through the atmosphere and around the world. According to the findings of a recent study, these waves reached speeds of up to 720 miles (1,158 kilometers) per hour while traveling through our atmosphere, making them the fastest ever recorded within our atmosphere.

 

Corwin Wright, the lead author of the study and a Royal Society University Research Fellow based at the Centre for Space, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Bath in the United Kingdom, said in a statement that "This was a genuinely huge explosion, and truly unique in terms of what's been observed by science to date." The announcement was made by Wright after the explosion was described (opens in a new tab). According to him, the airwaves that were caused by the volcano moved at speeds that had never been seen before, coming "quite close to the theoretical limit."

 

The conclusions that Wright and his colleagues came up with were published in the journal Nature on Thursday (June 30).

 

The volcano, which is located around 40 miles (65 kilometers) northwest of the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa and is referred to as Hunga, is part of a chain of volcanoes known as the Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc. Its full name is Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai. On January 15, Hunga saw an eruption that sent a towering plume of gas and particles billowing into the mesosphere. The mesosphere is the third layer of the atmosphere that is located above the surface of the Earth. The plume measured 36 miles (58 kilometers) in height at its highest point, making it the most prominent volcanic plume ever recorded by satellites.

 

Following the incident, experts from all over the world quickly began sorting through the massive amount of data that was collected by the many ground-based and space-borne monitoring systems that had been recording the eruption as it took place.

 

The Krakatau eruption in Indonesia in 1883 was one of the most destructive volcanic eruptions in recorded history. One research team determined that the airwaves produced by Hunga were comparable to those produced by the 1883 Krakatau eruption in Indonesia. Both of the volcanoes created waves that were comparable to one another in that they attained equal amplitudes and traveled the same number of times around the world, namely four times in one direction and three times in the other. Another research team discovered that the Hunga eruption caused ripples to race across the ocean, resulting in tiny, fast-moving meteotsunamis in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Mediterranean seas. These waves were small and traveled very quickly.

 

According to Space.com, shockwaves triggered by the eruption stirred up powerful winds with speeds of up to 450 miles per hour (720 kilometers per hour) high above the surface of the Earth, beyond the so-called Karman line that marks the edge of space, about 62 miles (100 km) above our planet. The Karman line is located approximately 100 kilometers (62 miles) above our world.

 

With the assistance of comparable satellite data and observations made on the ground, Wright and his coauthors have demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that the Hunga eruption was one of the most explosive volcanic eruptions that modern history has seen. Based on their findings, it appears that the volcanic eruption caused airwaves that traveled at rates of up to 1,050 feet (320 meters) per second and made at least six complete circuits around the planet.

 

According to Wright, the explosion was an incredible demonstration of nature's power. Because of the data that we have been able to collect on it, our understanding of our atmosphere will increase, which in turn will help us improve our weather and climate models.

Article source : https://www.livescience.com/tonga-volcanic-eruption-fast-waves

Image source  : https://pixabay.com/id/photos/gunung-berapi-letusan-mencuci-4813837/

 How far from Tonga was the eruption?

Does Tonga have active volcanoes?

What was the most destructive volcanic eruption ever recorded?

Where was the strongest volcanic eruption ever?