Will 2022 be a summer-free year? The Tonga volcano erupted, releasing energy comparable to an earthquake of magnitude 8.7

Tonga volcano erupts! The scene was very shocking! According to expert estimates, the eruption level of this volcanic eruption is 5, which may be 6. (The energy released at magnitude 5 is equivalent to the energy released by a magnitude 8.7 earthquake, and a magnitude 6 corresponds to the energy released by a magnitude 9.3 earthquake.) ）

The Tonga Volcano is a volcano located on the ocean floor of the South Pacific Ocean that has erupted violently. In space, the ash from the volcanic eruption can be clearly seen, and many satellites have captured the scene of the moment of the volcanic eruption, which is very shocking.

According to comprehensive media reports, the volcanic ash and air flow from the volcanic eruption formed a huge cloud through the uplift of the air flow, breaking through the troposphere, and the height of the cloud was more than 10,000 meters, reaching the stratosphere, that is, the height of the aircraft when cruising. When the volcano erupted, voices were heard in Fiji, 800 kilometers away. This volcanic eruption led to a tsunami that swept across the Pacific Ocean, with the United States, Australia, Japan, New Zealand, Fiji and other countries issuing tsunami warnings. The tsunami also swept into the capital of Tonga, where King Tupou VI had withdrawn.

Volcano experts at the University of Auckland say it could be the strongest eruption in 30 years. Tonga's volcanic eruption is so violent, will that lead to 2022 becoming a "summerless year"?

Many people may wonder, what is the relationship between volcanic eruptions and "summerless years"?

Let's take two notable examples:

• From April to July 1815, Mount Tambora in Indonesia erupted, the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded in the world, directly causing the average global temperature to drop by 0.53 degrees. There was no summer in all year of 1816, and the summer temperatures in England were 3 degrees lower than the average, and temperatures throughout the Northern Hemisphere were 1 degree lower than the average.
• In June 1991, a violent eruption of the Pinatubo volcano in the Philippines directly led to an average 0.5 degree drop in global temperatures that year.

So the question is, why does a volcanic eruption lead to a "summerless year"?

The principle of volcanic eruptions

This has to start with the principle of volcanoes. Volcanoes, like earthquakes, are a common natural phenomenon on Earth, and they are all cores of the earth that release energy outward. In other words, the internal structure of the earth is from the inside to the outside, which are the inland core, the outer core, the lower mantle, the upper mantle, and the earth's crust.

Among them, the earth's crust is composed of solid rock, the earth's crust is also divided into the oceanic crust and the continental crust, the oceanic crust due to its high density, although thinner, but heavier, while the continental crust due to low density, although thicker, but lighter weight.

There is an asthelus in the upper part of the mantle, where the temperature is as high as 700-1300 degrees, and some of the material is molten, which also makes the asthenosphere the main source of magma.

The crust on the surface of the earth is not monolithic, but split into pieces, which is also called: plates. According to the theory of plate tectonics, according to the different composition of the plate, it is divided into continental plate and oceanic plate. Since the asthenosphere beneath the crust flows slowly under the action of thermal convection, this will move with the crust, and the result is the movement of the plates. The joint between the plate and the plate is actually relatively weak, but when the two plates are squeezed or separated, it may cause the magma in the asthenosphere to erupt from the seam, which is actually the principle of volcanic eruption. This also explains why the vast majority of volcanoes on Earth are located in the Pacific Ring of Volcanic Seismic Belts.

Will 2022 be a summer-free year?

During a volcanic eruption, there will be a large amount of rubble, gas and ash that will be spewed out of the crater. Among them, the Tonga volcanic eruption belongs to the Pliny volcanic eruption, which is characterized by the ejection of a large amount of volcanic gas and volcanic ash into the stratosphere, and at the same time a large amount of pumice is also emitted, accompanied by the release of a large amount of gas such as large sulfur dioxide. Volcanic ash entering the stratosphere forms aerosol particles that reflect solar radiation into space, weakening solar radiation and thus reducing the global average temperature, also known as the umbrella effect.

Volcanoes, like earthquakes, have a total of eight grades, also known as: volcanic eruption index (VEI), the smallest is 1, expressed in "VEI-1", the energy released is equivalent to the earthquake 6.6 magnitude. For every unit increased in the index, the energy released increased by nearly an order of magnitude. For example, the energy released by a 3-magnitude volcanic eruption is equivalent to a 7-magnitude earthquake, and at level 4, it is equivalent to an 8.2-magnitude earthquake, which is also a watershed for volcanic eruptions to turn from weak to strong.

The eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia in 1815 reached VEI-7, and the eruption scale of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines in 1991 was VEI-6, both of which caused the global average temperature to drop, and the Eruption of the Tambora Fire in Indonesia also led to a summerless year. Will a similar situation occur at the Tonga volcano?

From the current situation, the Tonga volcano eruption bottom has VEI-5, it is possible to reach VEI-6, to know that the energy released by VEI-5 is equivalent to the energy released by the 8.7-magnitude earthquake, and the energy released by VEI-6 is equivalent to the energy released by the 9.3-magnitude earthquake. Therefore, from the perspective of volcanic eruption level, it is already considerable in scale, and it is very likely to affect the global climate, resulting in a drop in the average temperature in 2022, and even a summerless year.

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