An underwater volcano near Tonga has erupted for the third time in four days, potentially threatening the ability of surveillance flights to assess the damage to the Pacific island nation following Saturday's massive eruption and tsunami.
Australia's meteorological service said a "large eruption" took place at the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano on Monday, but no tsunami warnings have been issued.
Saturday's eruption was likely the biggest recorded anywhere on the planet in more than 30 years, according to experts. Dramatic images from space captured the eruption in real time, as a huge plume of ash, gas and steam was spewed up to 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) into the atmosphere -- and tsunami waves were sent crashing across the Pacific
On social media, footage showed people fleeing as waves inundated Tonga's capital, Nuku'alofa, and the afternoon sky turned pitch black due to the heavy ash cloud. Tsunami waves were also recorded thousands of miles away along the United States' West Coast, in Peru, New Zealand and Japan.
In Peru, at least two people died after being swept up by high waves.
No mass casualties have yet been reported, but aid organizations are concerned about contaminated air and access to clean water for people in Tonga's outlying islands.
With communications down, Australia and New Zealand sent flights to survey the damage.
Read more:
https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/17/asia/tonga-volcanic-eruption-tsunami-explainer-intl-hnk/index.html
4 Comments
eric3579Timestamps:
0:01 - 3:08 Peru
3:09 - 7:56 California
7:57 - 12:11 Japan
12:12 - 15:46 Chile
15:47 - 17:13 Ecuador
17:14 - 18:34 Hawaii
18:35 - 19:34 Oregon
19:35 - 20:19 Mexico
Has anyone heard/read if and how the eruption may impact global temperatures over the next few years? Curious what the climate scientist are predicting, but maybe to soon to know anything.
newtboyThe Hunga Tonga undersea volcanic eruption was the largest on earth over the last 30 years, according to Research Physical Scientist Brian Brettschneider with the National Weather Service Alaska region.
Brettschneider said that the ash created by the eruption will likely cause a slight cooling effect on the climate, though not as dramatic as short-term climate changes from past volcanic eruptions. In 1815, the climate impacts caused by the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption caused what was called “the year without a summer.”
“What we’re seeing so far is a fairly minor amount of climate altering stratospheric sulfur particles have been detected so far,” Brettschneider said. “A pretty small amount relative to the size of the eruption, so kind of our first initial best guess is that there is going to be a pretty minor climate impact over the next few years.”
Of course, that can only account for the estimates of the blast so far, not any future eruptions that may or may not happen.
Estimates say the Hunga Tonga eruption was equivalent to 2% of the pressure released in the Krakatoa eruption for comparison.
Timestamps:
0:01 - 3:08 Peru
3:09 - 7:56 California
7:57 - 12:11 Japan
12:12 - 15:46 Chile
15:47 - 17:13 Ecuador
17:14 - 18:34 Hawaii
18:35 - 19:34 Oregon
19:35 - 20:19 Mexico
Has anyone heard/read if and how the eruption may impact global temperatures over the next few years? Curious what the climate scientist are predicting, but maybe to soon to know anything.
cloudballoonsays...Might be a tiny bit of good news on the warming front, but what about the sulfuric "pollution" effect of the areas the ashes reache? Vegetation, waterways, etc. I'm not just thinking about the effects on human, but on the living environment of animals.
The Hunga Tonga undersea volcanic eruption was the largest on earth over the last 30 years, according to Research Physical Scientist Brian Brettschneider with the National Weather Service Alaska region.
Brettschneider said that the ash created by the eruption will likely cause a slight cooling effect on the climate, though not as dramatic as short-term climate changes from past volcanic eruptions. In 1815, the climate impacts caused by the Mount Tambora volcanic eruption caused what was called “the year without a summer.”
“What we’re seeing so far is a fairly minor amount of climate altering stratospheric sulfur particles have been detected so far,” Brettschneider said. “A pretty small amount relative to the size of the eruption, so kind of our first initial best guess is that there is going to be a pretty minor climate impact over the next few years.”
Of course, that can only account for the estimates of the blast so far, not any future eruptions that may or may not happen.
Estimates say the Hunga Tonga eruption was equivalent to 2% of the pressure released in the Krakatoa eruption for comparison.
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