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Volcanic Eruption in Tonga Was Hundreds of Times More Powerful Than the Hiroshima Atomic Bomb

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano contained several small islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai.
PUBLISHED OCT 14, 2024
Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by ESA / Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (Sentinel-2 image of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai island in 20 December 2021)
Cover Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by ESA / Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A (Sentinel-2 image of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai island in 20 December 2021)

Researchers have found the reason behind Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption, two years after the event. A recent study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters details the underground energy that led to the explosion.

"Our findings confirm there was an explosion, possibly due to a gas-compressed rock, which released energy that equated to five of the largest underground nuclear explosions conducted by North Korea in 2017," study co-author Jinyin Hu, a Ph.D. student at Australian National University said, Newsweek reported.

As per NASA, the volcanic eruption was hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima atomic bomb. "This is a preliminary estimate, but we think the amount of energy released by the eruption was equivalent to somewhere between 4 to 18 megatons of TNT," NASA scientist, Jim Garvin at Goddard Space Flight Center said.

Hunga Tonga Volcano

Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by James B. Garvin, Daniel Slayback, Christine Giguere, James J. Frawley, Ghassem Asrar, Karen Andersen, Vicki Ferrini (The story of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai Island in the Kingdom of Tonga)
Image Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo by James B. Garvin, Daniel Slayback, Christine Giguere, James J. Frawley, Ghassem Asrar, Karen Andersen, Vicki Ferrini (The story of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai Island in the Kingdom of Tonga)

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano contained several small islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha’apai along with shallow reefs in the western South Pacific Ocean, the Smithsonian Institution reported. It is one of the 12 confirmed submarine volcanoes situated along the Tofua Arc, a segment of the larger Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc. In 2022, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai erupted and produced a gigantic plume, NASA reported. Later on, the plume measuring 58 kilometers was determined to be the cause behind the biggest atmospheric explosion ever recorded. Around six people lost their lives in the resultant tsunami brought on by the volcano. The area took heavy damage and only two small islands remained in place after the eruption.

Reason Behind the Eruption

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by  정 규송 Nui MALAMA
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by 정 규송 Nui MALAMA

Researchers working to find the reason behind this eruption have concluded the findings in a study, Newsweek reported. Experts analyzed seismic records of the area and the findings indicated that an immense amount of energy was present in the rocks under the ocean floor during eruption.

According to the study, all the energy was released at once resulting in the giant explosion. "Our model suggests the event resulted from the gas-compressed rock being trapped underneath a shallow sea, like an overcooked pressure cooker," Hu said. "This would be surprising to many because it had been commonly thought that the interaction of hot magma with cold seawater caused such massive underwater volcanic eruptions."

Analysis of the Eruption

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Alberto Solorio
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Alberto Solorio

To study the seismic forces associated with the eruption, the researchers utilized techniques that are usually involved with analyzing underground explosions. Seismic waveform modeling revealed that a significant amount of vertical force was pointing upward during the event. According to the study, this was because the solid earth rebounded upwards after the water column got elevated.

"The water volume that was uplifted during the event was huge. Based on our estimates, there was enough water to fill about one million standard Olympic-sized swimming pools," study co-author Thanh-Son Pham, also a researcher at Australian Nation University explained. The explosion that was facilitated underground pushed a lot of water upward, resulting in extreme tsunamis all across the Pacific. 

Biggest Atmospheric Explosion Ever Recorded

Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Ahmed akacha
Representative Image Source: Pexels | Photo by Ahmed akacha

The team is glad they had the required data to make their findings, Newsweek reported. "This is one of the largest events in our lifetime. Luckily, we had multiple ways to record the event, from data from satellite images to seismic sensors that record the sound waves and structure," Hu said. "There was another event that happened in 1991 that was a similar size in Pinatubo in the Philippines, but back then, monitoring systems weren't as sophisticated as they are now," he said.

The researchers are advocating for further study on the matter, IFL Science reported. They know some could find their outcomes "debatable" but they have faith in their calculations and hope that further analysis can give a clear picture. Pam and Hu added that research on the matter would also help humanity to be better equipped for similar future events, Scitech Daily reported.

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