| scientific wormhole
On January 14, 2022, a huge mushroom cloud suddenly appeared in the Pacific Ocean, and multinational satellite images showed that the South Pacific island nation of Tonga suffered a volcanic eruption; a wave of uneven waves rose again, and on the afternoon of the 15th, it erupted again violently; on the 17th, there was another large eruption.
Volcanic eruption in Tonga
The Kingdom of Tonga belongs to Oceania, located in the western South Pacific, consists of 173 islands with a population of just 108,000 as of 2017.
The volcano where the eruption took place is located on the uninhabited "Hong Aha Apay Island", about 65 kilometers north of the capital of Tonga. The predecessor of the volcano is an undersea volcano, the seabed part is about 1800 meters high and about 20 kilometers wide.
Above it are two small islands about 2 kilometers long, and after the eruption in 2014, a new island was formed between the two islands. This eruption caused the new island to sink below the surface.
Satellite monitoring shows that after the eruption of the Hong Aha Apay Island volcano (hereinafter referred to as Tonga Volcano), a large amount of volcanic ash and gases broke through the sea level, 28 kilometers above the ground, and the diameter of the mushroom cloud top reached 400-500 kilometers.
After the eruption of the Tonga volcano, "Tonga volcano has awakened" once waited for the hot search, but it should be noted that the volcano did not sleep. On the one hand, it has erupted as early as 2015.
On the other hand, the volcano has been very active over the past 100 years, with multiple eruptions that have constantly altered the island. It is so active because Tonga is located in the "Pacific Rim of Volcanoes".
The Pacific Ring of The Pacific Ring is horseshoe-shaped, 40,000 km long, located between the Pacific Plate and the Eurasian Plate, with frequent crustal activity, volcanoes and earthquakes. As a result, Tonga became a country prone to earthquakes and volcanoes.
How powerful is the Tonga volcano eruption?
The Tonga volcano erupted and directly stirred nearly half the earth. Many say it is as powerful as the 1,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs. But some argue that the metaphor is not rigorous enough, because although volcanic eruptions are destructive, the equivalent amount of material released by them is difficult to calculate.
To understand the power of volcanic eruptions, one must first understand the "Volcanic Explosivity Index", or VEI for short, which ranges from low to high at 0-8.
VEI is measured by eruptions, including ejected materials such as volcanic ash and lava flows, as well as the height of the ejected columns and the duration of the eruptions.
Of these, the total volume of the eruption is the most commonly used criterion. Eruptions less than 10,000 cubic meters, VEI class 0; more than 10,000 cubic meters, VEI class 1;
Between 10,000 and 1 million cubic meters, it is VEI class 2; after that, the total volume of the eruption is 10 times that of the previous stage for each step.
The VEI rating of the tonga volcano is uncertain and will not be conclusive until near the end of the eruption.
The Tonga volcano erupted during this time, and the local residents of Tonga bore the brunt of it. The violent eruption lasted for 8 minutes on the 15th, and the sky over Tonga was obscured by volcanic ash, and the ensuing tsunami flooded parts of the capital, and the local people were evacuated urgently.
Due to volcanic ash and smoke, local water sources have been contaminated and people need to wear masks and drink bottled water.
At the same time, the national network was almost completely disrupted, and the roar of volcanic eruptions could be heard in Alaska, about 10,000 kilometers away.
The earthquake caused by the large eruption of the Tonga volcano reached a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale, triggering a tsunami that threatened the entire Pacific coastal region, and many countries such as Japan issued tsunami warnings, and tsunami waves were also monitored in the coastal waters of the mainland.
Some coastal areas of the mainland, such as Taiwan and Hainan, may be affected by large-scale tsunamis, and we should strengthen our precautions, but in general, we will not be too endangered.
As of January 18, three people have died as a result of the eruption. So what is the situation in Tanghua? The Chinese envoy to Tonga said that after the investigation, more than 1,000 Chinese citizens on the main island of Tonga are safe, and everyone can rest assured.
Global or "summerless year"?
The eruption of The Tonga volcano is one of the strongest volcanic eruptions in the world in the past 30 years, and some people say that it will make the summerless year once again envelop the world.
The reason I say "again" is because there is precedent for such things. In 1815, Mount Tambora, located on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa, erupted and the VEI reached 7.
The eruption destroyed most of the summit and produced a loud noise that could be heard 2,500 kilometers away.
About 10,000 people died directly in the disaster, 82,000 died from post-eruption famine and disease, and 170 cubic kilometers (about 130 billion tons) of volcanic ash and rubble entered the air.
A large amount of volcanic ash and gas entered the sky, obscuring the sky so tightly that it was almost impossible to see five fingers. The eruption also affected the global climate, dropping temperatures by an average of 0.53 degrees, and worse, there was no summer in the world the following year.
The question is, why does the volcano spew out scorching magma, but the temperature does not rise but falls? First, volcanic ash particles entering the atmosphere block solar radiation and stay for up to months, and the temperature will naturally decrease.
In addition, volcanic eruptions release sulfur dioxide, which reacts with other components to form sulfuric acid and other compounds that reflect sunlight, acting as an "umbrella" so that the temperature drops.
So, will the eruption of Tonga Volcano be like the great eruption of Mount Tambora, causing the world to face a "summerless year"?
According to NASA satellite measurements, as of the 16th, the eruption caused about 420,000 tons of sulfur dioxide to be released into the stratosphere.
The magnitude difference between the tonga eruption and the Tambora eruption is very large, and assuming no stronger eruptions in the later stages, this eruption will not have much impact on the global climate.
Today, the tonga eruption has released more energy and may continue to erupt, but the chances of a large-scale eruption are unlikely.
Tonga Volcano
Experts from the Chinese Academy of Sciences pointed out that if volcanic eruptions are to have a recognizable impact on the global climate, it is estimated that at least millions of tons of sulfur dioxide should be transported to the stratosphere.
In addition to the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora, the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines is also a well-known volcanic event that caused changes in global temperatures. It emits about 20 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere, about 50 times more than the eruption of the Tonga volcano.
In general, the volcanic eruption in Tonga is large in scale and the devastating tsunami caused by it is also once in a century, but the impact on the climate and ecology is local and will not affect the global climate.
Natural disasters know no borders, countries should be timely to predict, prevent and respond, and now many countries are reaching out to Tonga.
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