Eruption of volcano in Tonga led to a plume of ash and water that went about 31 to 50 miles above the surface of the Earth

In January, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted underwater. It created a plume of ash and water that reached nearly 31 to 50 miles above the surface of the Earth. Scientists say it penetrated the third layer of Earth’s atmosphere. In fact, it was the highest-recorded volcanic plume and reached the mesosphere. At this height, meteors and meteorites usually break apart and burn up in our atmosphere. Incidentally, the mesosphere lies above the troposphere and the stratosphere and beneath two other layers. The stratosphere and mesosphere are dry atmospheric layers. The height of the volcanic plume was 35.4 miles at its highest. It broke earlier records of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines at 24.8 miles and the 1982 El Chichón eruption in Mexico at 19.2 miles. Researchers made use of satellite images over the eruption site to confirm the height of the plume. The location of the eruption was in the southern Pacific Ocean off the Tongan archipelago. This is an area covered by three geostationary weather satellites. Tonga eruption’s towering plume reached the third layer of Earth’s atmosphere.

It is possible to visualize the magnitude of the disturbance caused by the amount of water displaced. It could fill 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. This is based on previous detections from a NASA satellite. Researchers can use the height of the plume to study the impact of the eruption on the global climate. Incidentally, determining the height of the plume was a challenge to researchers. There are various algorithms to arrive at the figure. Dr. Simon Proud is the lead study coauthor. Knowledge of the composition and height of the plume can reveal how much ice went up into the stratosphere and how the ash particles scattered. The height is also critical for aviation safety because volcanic ash in the atmosphere could result in failure of the jet engine.

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Volcanic eruption creates a new island in Tonga

#volcaniceruption #tonga #volcanologist A new island has been created as a result of a volcanic eruption in Tonga - the volcano has been erupting for a month in the ocean about 40 miles northwest of the capital, Nuku'alofa.
The eruption started on December 20 for the first time in five years and is reported to have affected international air travel to the Pacific archipelago for several days last week. This is as per information of the Lands and Natural Resources Ministry.
New Zealand volcanologist Nico Fournier has apparently traveled by boat to within about a mile of the new island to take a closer look and he has described the new island as made up mainly of loose scoria. The dimensions of the new island are about 1.1 miles by 0.9 miles, and it rises to approximately 109 yards above the sea.
Fournier is employed by the New Zealand agency GNS Science, and in his opinion, once the volcano stops erupting, it will be lost due to erosion by the ocean within a few months. If it had been made up of lava, its chances of survival would have been better.
Fournier has also indicated that the depth of the ocean around the island is fairly shallow, perhaps only about 328-656 feet deep, and no name has yet been assigned for this new entity. That responsibility rests with the King of Tonga since the naming rights are held by him.
Incidentally, Tonga lies on the so-called Pacific “Ring of Fire” which is a place where continental plates keep colliding and causing frequent volcanic and seismic activity.