{"id":952,"date":"2022-01-19T12:59:55","date_gmt":"2022-01-19T11:59:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=109377"},"modified":"2022-01-19T13:15:12","modified_gmt":"2022-01-19T12:15:12","slug":"tonga-volcano-a-volcanologist-explains-what-we-know-about-this-once-in-a-lifetime-eruption","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/tonga-volcano-a-volcanologist-explains-what-we-know-about-this-once-in-a-lifetime-eruption\/","title":{"rendered":"Tonga Volcano: A volcanologist explains what we know about this once-in-a-lifetime eruption"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Amy Barrett\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 19 January 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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The eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha\u2019apai volcano on Saturday, 15 January 2022 has left thousands people without homes, supplies and internet. On Tuesday 18 January, the Tongan government confirmed the eruption had resulted in three deaths, two of which were local people, and one British national.<\/p>\n

The volcano\u2019s explosion sent shockwaves as far as Alaska and the UK, and caused a tsunami that affected the shores of Australia, the US and Russia. The volcano is said to have been responsible for nearly 400,000 lightning events<\/a> in the hours following the explosion on Saturday, according to meteorologist Chris Vagasky<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Around 10 hours after the eruption, people in Miami, USA \u2013 over 7,000 miles away from the volcano \u2013 saw pressure \u2018waves\u2019 at speeds of 695 mph<\/a> \u2013 acoustic ripples in the air which, according to atmospheric scientist Brian McNoldy<\/a> on Twitter, were essentially traveling at the speed of sound through the atmosphere.<\/p>\n

The shockwaves continued to travel around the globe, and were still being recorded on Tuesday 18 January<\/a>. Seismology student Felix Eckel<\/a> said readings made it \u201cclearly visible that [the wave] has circled the planet twice at this time\u201d.<\/p>\n

The volcano\u2019s activity has dropped since the eruption, however it continues to release gases into the atmosphere. These include sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which volcanologist Shane Cronin<\/a> told Reuters news agency could interact with water and oxygen in the air to create acid rain over Tonga<\/a>. Additionally, the amount of ash released at the time of the eruption could impact local waters, causing marine life to die or migrate to cleaner waters, and impacting the Tongan fishing industry.<\/p>\n

Read more about volcano eruptions:<\/strong><\/p>\n