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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Typhoon Nock-Ten closes in on the Bicol peninsula and nearby islands of Philippines

Typhoon Nock-Ten closes in on the Bicol peninsula and nearby islands and thousands of residents were fleeing coastal and other hazardous areas in the eastern Philippines. The powerful typhoon is barrelled towards the disaster-prone archipelago and officials have warned of 2.5-metre high waves and landslides.
People were evacuated from a farming village of 3,300 people near the active Mayon volcano. There are large ash deposits on the slopes and, heavy rain could dislodge them and bury the homes in mud.
This has been reported in thestatesman.com dated 25 December 2016.

Philippine and international weather services have indicated that Nock- Ten, named after a bird found in Laos, was set to hit Bicol on Sunday before reaching the rest of the main island of Luzon tomorrow. The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center has also made forecast of sustained windspeeds of 231-Kmph and gusts of 278-Kmph when Nock-Ten makes landfall.
The typhoon will affect an area populated by nearly 42 million people and will include the capital Manila. The government has carried out preemptive evacuations in the region with nearly 4,000 residents moving into emergency centres and more than 8,000 others seeking shelter elsewhere.
Nock-Ten is arriving outside the normal typhoon season and will disrupt the celebration of one of the most important holidays in the mainly Catholic country's religious calendar - all ferry services and some commercial flights suspended. The coastguard has ordered beaches south of Manila to be cleared of holidaymakers and all forms of recreational activity (on the coasts) remain banned.


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#PaulAllen #Musashi #WWII #SibuyanSea #Philippines Paul Allen, the cofounder of Microsoft and his team of researchers have been able to locate the wreckage of the Japanese battleship Musashi that had been torpedoed by US warships in 1944 as reported in foxnews.com dated 4 March 2015.
It is believed to be lying roughly one mile below the surface in the Sibuyan Sea off central Philippines.
The team of Paul Allen had been trying to locate the wreckage for the last eight years and the find would bring to an end their efforts. In order to carry out the work, they had outfitted the billionaire's yacht, M/Y Octopus, with high-tech equipment to map undersea topography.
Paul Allen has reportedly confirmed about locating the wreckage by the help of a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) that had been outfitted with a high-definition camera. He has tweeted a couple of pictures of the wreckage.
Just for records – Musashi was completed in 1942 and was one of the heaviest warships ever constructed. It weighed just under 73,000 tons and was armed with nine 18-inch main guns. It was torpedoed, bombed and sunk by US forces on Oct. 24, 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Japanese officials have, so far, not made any public statement to confirm or deny that the ship is the Musashi and the Philippines' Navy and Coast Guard have expressed ignorance about the discovery.