A recent volcanic eruption will help scientists predict climate change better
Looks like, the geologist community is on a roll, as back-to-back volcanoes are making news. As some of you might know, a new study has revealed that New Zealand’s supervolcano Lake Taupō is highly active. Now, research from another volcano named Hunga Tonga has also come to the surface, revealing that it can help scientists better understand and predict weather and climate change. This underwater volcano had first shown signs of being active in December 2021 and finally erupted on 15th January 2022. What’s interesting here is that, NASA had described this volcanic eruption as more powerful than an atomic bomb explosion.
Exploring the Hunga Tonga volcano
Hunga-Tonga (also known as Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai) is a submarine volcano that is situated in the South Pacific and is part of the island nation Tonga. It is part of the highly active Kermadec-Tonga subduction zone (a convergent plate boundary) that stretches from New Zealand to Fiji. In fact, it is formed by the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Indo-Australian Plate. It stretches across 100 kilometres above an extremely active seismic zone.
Interestingly, this underwater volcano is 2000 metres above the sea floor and its only two major above-water parts are the twin uninhabited islands called Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai. Now you know how the volcano got its name!
Hunga Tonga: A key to atmospheric findings
Since the Hunga Tonga volcano erupted in January this year, scientists have been busy studying it. A team of international scientists, led by Mathew Barlow (a professor of environmental, earth and atmospheric sciences at UMass Lowell and part of its ‘Climate Change Initiative’) and Corwin Wright (part of Centre for Space, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science at the University of Bath in the U.K) studied the atmospheric response to this volcanic eruption and published their recent findings in the scientific journal Nature.
Okay, so what exactly did the team discover? Turns out, the satellite data from the volcanic site has revealed a spectrum of atmospheric waves (triggered by the volcanic eruption), ranging from the Earth to the edge of the outer space. They are travelling at a speed of 720 miles per hour. Now, you may be wondering why exactly is that significant? Well, for the first time ever, atmospheric waves travelled at such high frequency, that too so close to the stratosphere.
The data also throws light on the instant effects of the eruption, such as release of water vapour alongside volcanic materials (black ash, sulphur dioxide, soil and smoke), at a speed 31 miles into the air. When these particles are released into high atmosphere, they, in turn, have a cooling effect on the climate. However, the amount produced by the Hunga Tonga was not enough to impact the climate to such an extent, although it does offer hopes for such volcanic eruptions in the future.
The research team is hopeful that these atmospheric waves will further their research into atmospheric mechanism and even help make effective computer models for weather forecast and climate predictions. Why? This is because Hunga Tonga happens to be the strongest single burst of volcanic energy released in last 140 years. This means that its strength offered scientists a never-seen-before perspective of the powerful atmospheric waves.
Notably, throughout geological history, volcanoes have immensely affected Earth’s climate, by reducing the surface temperature, enhancing stratospheric temperature, dominating water cycle and even weakening monsoon circulation.