Published June 27, 2023 at 3:28 p.m.
Updated June 27, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.
More than a year and a half after its eruption, the undersea volcano Hunga Tonga continues to be the talk of the town. Details.
The strongest volcanic eruption
Between January 14 and 15, 2022, the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga erupts in the western Pacific. It spews ash, water, and magmatic gases into the mesosphere, a layer of the atmosphere located between 50 and 90 km above sea level.
This is the strongest volcanic eruption ever recorded. From a tsunami that struck the coast of Japan to a shock wave that circled the earth twice, we still remember the many impacts.
New records
A year and a half later, the analysis of new data has once again revealed the exceptional nature of the event. Thanks to the observations of two geostationary satellites, scientists were able to more precisely determine the extent of the volcanic storm caused.
To understand this, let’s go back: Shortly after the 2022 eruption, the smoke plume had spread rapidly outward in circular waves called gravity waves. These waves had triggered the formation of lightning rings, some up to 170 miles (280 km) in diameter.
January 16, 2022: Puff of smoke visible from space. Source: NASA
In a study published in Geophysical Research Letters in June 2023, the authors revealed surprising numbers on this phenomenon. In the center of the storm we would have registered more than 2600 lightning bolts per minute, some of them at an altitude of 30 kilometers. This is not only a frequency record, but also an altitude record for lightning.