Shockwave
January 22, 2022 1:49 PM Subscribe
One week ago today, an underwater volcano whose 5km-wide caldera sat 150 metres below the surface of the Pacific Ocean erupted, sending a plume of ash into the stratosphere and across most of the Kingdom of Tonga, an island nation of 100,000 people. Its sonic boom was heard 9,000km away in Alaska, the atmospheric shockwaves circled the world twice, and it caused a tsunami which reached New Zealand, Peru, California, and other Pacific nations—but most badly affected Tonga itself, just before most of the country was blanketed by ash.
Not long afterwards, Tonga's main communications link to Fiji and the rest of the world went down. In the days immediately after the eruption, with news from Tonga itself absent, the world focused on the eruption and tsunami. The Guardian provided a timeline of the eruption, while the New York Times and National Geographic gave more scientific detail. The volcanic island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai, formed when an earlier eruption in 2015 joined two islands, was split apart again, and significantly reduced in size, by the blast.
Through the early part of the week, the extent of the damage in Tonga remained unclear. Initial satellite imagery led to fears that the tsunami had washed away entire settlements on the country's main island of Tongatapu, although subsequent higher-resolution images showed buildings covered in ash rather than completely destroyed. New Zealand and Australia sent flights to assess the damage, and their first photos showed its devastating scale.
Towards the end of the week, satellite dishes cleared of ash allowed direct communication with the outside world again, with Tonga's government declaring an “unprecedented disaster”. Three deaths from the tsunami were confirmed and images circulated of the country's capital Nuku‘alofa covered in volcanic ash. Fears remained for smaller outlying islands, such as Mango, where every house was destroyed by the tsunami.
The immediate damage has been bad enough, but in the longer term the eruption may damage the local environment for years, disrupting local agriculture and fishing in a country that relies on them to feed its people. Scientists following the atmospheric impact of the eruption wondered at first if it would have a similar impact on global climate as Pinatubo in the early 1990s, although it now appears that it won't—but the local health impacts of the ash cloud will be significant.
Ash covering the airport runway on Tongatapu hampered initial relief efforts, along with fears that outsiders would bring Covid into the country—Tonga has recorded only one case of Covid to date, but has long memories of the flu pandemic which killed one in ten Tongans a century ago. Despite this, aid has now arrived by air from Australia and New Zealand, with more on its way by sea. Tonga badly needs the world's help, and will do for some time.
Not long afterwards, Tonga's main communications link to Fiji and the rest of the world went down. In the days immediately after the eruption, with news from Tonga itself absent, the world focused on the eruption and tsunami. The Guardian provided a timeline of the eruption, while the New York Times and National Geographic gave more scientific detail. The volcanic island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai, formed when an earlier eruption in 2015 joined two islands, was split apart again, and significantly reduced in size, by the blast.
Through the early part of the week, the extent of the damage in Tonga remained unclear. Initial satellite imagery led to fears that the tsunami had washed away entire settlements on the country's main island of Tongatapu, although subsequent higher-resolution images showed buildings covered in ash rather than completely destroyed. New Zealand and Australia sent flights to assess the damage, and their first photos showed its devastating scale.
Towards the end of the week, satellite dishes cleared of ash allowed direct communication with the outside world again, with Tonga's government declaring an “unprecedented disaster”. Three deaths from the tsunami were confirmed and images circulated of the country's capital Nuku‘alofa covered in volcanic ash. Fears remained for smaller outlying islands, such as Mango, where every house was destroyed by the tsunami.
The immediate damage has been bad enough, but in the longer term the eruption may damage the local environment for years, disrupting local agriculture and fishing in a country that relies on them to feed its people. Scientists following the atmospheric impact of the eruption wondered at first if it would have a similar impact on global climate as Pinatubo in the early 1990s, although it now appears that it won't—but the local health impacts of the ash cloud will be significant.
Ash covering the airport runway on Tongatapu hampered initial relief efforts, along with fears that outsiders would bring Covid into the country—Tonga has recorded only one case of Covid to date, but has long memories of the flu pandemic which killed one in ten Tongans a century ago. Despite this, aid has now arrived by air from Australia and New Zealand, with more on its way by sea. Tonga badly needs the world's help, and will do for some time.
English speakers rhyme it with SONG-uh (with a soft g, so that doesn't work if you're from Liverpool). But strictly speaking it's "to + nga", so "toh-nga".
posted by rory at 2:09 PM on January 22, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by rory at 2:09 PM on January 22, 2022 [7 favorites]
This 4 minute report (which has been updated several times since) has a very good visualization of the caldera and the volcano on top of it.
posted by Bee'sWing at 2:39 PM on January 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by Bee'sWing at 2:39 PM on January 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
Thank you, especially the donation links.
I'd heard Tonga asked people to wait to donate while they assessed, so have been waiting for the donation process to be announced.
posted by chapps at 2:57 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'd heard Tonga asked people to wait to donate while they assessed, so have been waiting for the donation process to be announced.
posted by chapps at 2:57 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Nice thorough post, thank you!
Additional images, videos, infographics, and history at NASA Earth Observatory > Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai Erupts (January 15, 2022) and Dramatic Changes at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai:
Additional images, videos, infographics, and history at NASA Earth Observatory > Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai Erupts (January 15, 2022) and Dramatic Changes at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai:
“This is a preliminary estimate, but we think [the] amount of energy released by the eruption was equivalent to somewhere between 5 to 30 megatons of TNT,” said Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “That number is based on how much was removed, how resistant the rock was, and how high the eruption cloud was blown into the atmosphere at a range of velocities.” The blast released hundreds of times the equivalent mechanical energy of the Hiroshima nuclear explosion. For comparison, scientists estimate Mount St. Helens exploded in 1980 with 24 megatons and Krakatoa burst in 1883 with 200 megatons of energy.posted by cenoxo at 3:42 PM on January 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
We were in southern Chile in a house with no road access, running water or electricity, that you could only reach by boat from a small town. Most of our group had crossed to the other side to go to some hot-springs, except for me, my wife, son and one other friend. Many of those absent had left their cellphones in the house.
Suddenly, the whole place starts ululating: all the different phones around the place giving off an early warning siren as we received text messages telling us a tsunami is possible and to move away from the coastline, which in our case was a non-starter as it would have meant hacking through old-growth native forests up a 45º slope.
The hot-springs group, who would have to return by boat during a tsunami warning, got in touch with us, and fortunately the friend who'd stayed behind with us is a climate scientist and knew where to find real-time sea level data, as well as get in touch with a tsunami expert, so we were able to reassure them it was safe to cross over. They got back shaken but safe.
People all over the country were told to leave beaches and waterfront areas, and there were some large waves along the coast, but nothing life threatening.
posted by signal at 4:05 PM on January 22, 2022 [19 favorites]
Suddenly, the whole place starts ululating: all the different phones around the place giving off an early warning siren as we received text messages telling us a tsunami is possible and to move away from the coastline, which in our case was a non-starter as it would have meant hacking through old-growth native forests up a 45º slope.
The hot-springs group, who would have to return by boat during a tsunami warning, got in touch with us, and fortunately the friend who'd stayed behind with us is a climate scientist and knew where to find real-time sea level data, as well as get in touch with a tsunami expert, so we were able to reassure them it was safe to cross over. They got back shaken but safe.
People all over the country were told to leave beaches and waterfront areas, and there were some large waves along the coast, but nothing life threatening.
posted by signal at 4:05 PM on January 22, 2022 [19 favorites]
Infrared capture of the Tonga shockwave (by the NOAA GOES-17 satellite), and a simulation of the atmospheric pressure wave reverberating around the earth. Like ringing a bell...
posted by cenoxo at 4:16 PM on January 22, 2022 [7 favorites]
posted by cenoxo at 4:16 PM on January 22, 2022 [7 favorites]
Biggest Volcano Eruption Comparison
posted by philip-random at 4:30 PM on January 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 4:30 PM on January 22, 2022 [4 favorites]
I'd earlier watched the Gone With the Wynns weekly vids (eg. this one) on the Tonga area; they left their boat there before COVID and got back to it in mid-2021 for a bit more exploration before heading down to NZ.
Looks like a 2-3' wave rolled through the small town on another island (Nomuka) they had been to; kinda a miracle given the eruption was just 40-odd miles to the west.
Ah, here's a new report on the Sheens, featured in one of the Wynns videos on Nomuka island
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 5:06 PM on January 22, 2022
Looks like a 2-3' wave rolled through the small town on another island (Nomuka) they had been to; kinda a miracle given the eruption was just 40-odd miles to the west.
Ah, here's a new report on the Sheens, featured in one of the Wynns videos on Nomuka island
posted by Heywood Mogroot III at 5:06 PM on January 22, 2022
Terrific post, Rory.
posted by doctornemo at 5:31 PM on January 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by doctornemo at 5:31 PM on January 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
Terrific post, Rory.
Yes, thank you for posting this!
posted by Dip Flash at 6:42 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Yes, thank you for posting this!
posted by Dip Flash at 6:42 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Did You Hear a Volcano Erupting? — The eruption near Tonga was so powerful you could hear it in Alaska, Alaska Public Media; Maggie Nelson KUCB-Unalaska, Rashah McChesney KTOO-Juneau; January 17, 2022.
Here's what it sounded like about 40 miles away (this YT video link starts at 1:40, with a BIG BOOM! at 1:50, followed by running and screaming). The video comments are worth reading.
posted by cenoxo at 6:45 PM on January 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
Here's what it sounded like about 40 miles away (this YT video link starts at 1:40, with a BIG BOOM! at 1:50, followed by running and screaming). The video comments are worth reading.
posted by cenoxo at 6:45 PM on January 22, 2022 [3 favorites]
To help keep Earthly things in perspective, here's A Large Tsunami Shock Wave on the Sun spreading at nearly one million kilometers (~600,000 miles) per hour.
posted by cenoxo at 7:16 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by cenoxo at 7:16 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Geez, sun, you always gotta one-up the Earth?
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 8:11 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 8:11 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
A 10 centimeter high wave was detected in Puerto Rico, yes Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.
posted by interogative mood at 9:04 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by interogative mood at 9:04 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
How Tonga volcano eruption pushed out Seattle fog from nearly 6,000 miles away
The Tonga Volcano Affects the Weather and Water of the Pacific Northwest
posted by ShooBoo at 9:24 PM on January 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
The Tonga Volcano Affects the Weather and Water of the Pacific Northwest
posted by ShooBoo at 9:24 PM on January 22, 2022 [2 favorites]
related: krakatoa. very good. solid B.
posted by j_curiouser at 9:33 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by j_curiouser at 9:33 PM on January 22, 2022 [1 favorite]
Re the pressure wave simulation. Does the data mean the people in Algeria felt/heard something?
posted by Mitheral at 10:28 PM on January 22, 2022
posted by Mitheral at 10:28 PM on January 22, 2022
Interesting question: is the antipode of a global pressure wave like the eye of a hurricane? An antipodal map of Tonga (represented by the small orange spots on the interactive map) centers over the southern end of Algeria and the western corner of Niger. The pressure wave simulation was a first run, so perhaps its antipodal location isn't that precise. Any meteorologists on MeFi care to venture an opinion?
posted by cenoxo at 11:52 PM on January 22, 2022
posted by cenoxo at 11:52 PM on January 22, 2022
Thanks rory, neat post, better for waiting a week. Scott "Rocket Scientist" Manley [MetaPrev], who covered the Arecibo telescope collapse, has 8 minutes of early [16/Jan] analysis of the Tonga event. He floats the idea of climate impact although, as rory notes, the ejecta volume makes this now unlikely.
posted by BobTheScientist at 2:38 AM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by BobTheScientist at 2:38 AM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
I'm amazed (and grateful) that there were only three deaths.
It's also a reminder of how fragile even our high-tech connections are, that we could still lose contact with a whole island for an extended period thanks to a natural phenomenon.
posted by praemunire at 8:11 AM on January 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
It's also a reminder of how fragile even our high-tech connections are, that we could still lose contact with a whole island for an extended period thanks to a natural phenomenon.
posted by praemunire at 8:11 AM on January 23, 2022 [2 favorites]
Hunga Tonga and The Supercriticality Event | VolcanoCafe:
As the numbers for the Hunga Tonga eruption continues to come in it is becoming ever clearer that something truly momentous happened, something not seen or heard in 139 years.posted by Bangaioh at 10:34 AM on January 23, 2022 [5 favorites]
[...]
As explosions go it was the largest explosion witnessed by humans. Now remember that we are talking about the “boom” and not the eruption, humanity have witnessed quite a few larger eruptions.
Great article, Bangaioh. Thanks.
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 11:10 AM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 11:10 AM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
The week that Tonga went silent.
Hunga's plume reached the boundary of the mesosphere, 55km above the Earth's surface.
More first-hand accounts are emerging:
"It felt like the heavens had cracked open and the world exploded inside my ear. I’ve never heard a louder noise in all my life. If death had a sound, that would be it.”
"It was too loud to hear but I could feel it. The house was vibrating, windows were vibrating and it became more and more intense until the big bang."
“When the wave break on land just below us, my niece Elisiva and I had nothing to hold onto and we were swept out to sea. This was 7pm. We floated at sea, just calling out to each other. It was dark and we could not see each other. Very soon I could not hear my niece calling anymore."
"We don’t know how long we’re going to be living with this and how are we going to [get through it], not only physical stuff but also mentally … because we have never experienced this.”
posted by rory at 12:24 PM on January 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
Hunga's plume reached the boundary of the mesosphere, 55km above the Earth's surface.
More first-hand accounts are emerging:
"It felt like the heavens had cracked open and the world exploded inside my ear. I’ve never heard a louder noise in all my life. If death had a sound, that would be it.”
"It was too loud to hear but I could feel it. The house was vibrating, windows were vibrating and it became more and more intense until the big bang."
“When the wave break on land just below us, my niece Elisiva and I had nothing to hold onto and we were swept out to sea. This was 7pm. We floated at sea, just calling out to each other. It was dark and we could not see each other. Very soon I could not hear my niece calling anymore."
"We don’t know how long we’re going to be living with this and how are we going to [get through it], not only physical stuff but also mentally … because we have never experienced this.”
posted by rory at 12:24 PM on January 23, 2022 [4 favorites]
More Hunga-Tonga imagery and analysis at the CIMSS Satellite Blog > Explosive eruption of the Hunga Tonga volcano, January 15th, 2022, Scott Bachmeier.
posted by cenoxo at 1:35 PM on January 23, 2022
posted by cenoxo at 1:35 PM on January 23, 2022
Tonga volcano eruption created puzzling ripples in Earth’s atmosphere - Powerful waves ringing through the atmosphere after the eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai are unlike anything seen before., Nature, David Adam, 18 January 2022:
posted by cenoxo at 2:49 PM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
…“It’s really unique. We have never seen anything like this in the data before,” says Lars Hoffmann, an atmospheric scientist at the Jülich Supercomputing Centre in Germany.More in the article.
The discovery was made in images collected by the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS), mounted on NASA’s Aqua satellite [WP], in the hours after the eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano on 14 January.
They show dozens of concentric circles, each representing a fast-moving wave in the gases of the atmosphere, stretching for more than 16,000 kilometres. The waves reached from the ocean surface to the ionosphere, and researchers think that they probably passed around the globe several times.
“This instrument has been operating for something like 20 years now and we have never seen such nice concentric wave patterns”…
PHOTO
Images from the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder on NASA’s Aqua satellite show dozens of concentric circles, which are fast-moving atmospheric waves.Credit: Lars Hoffmann, Jülich Supercomputing Centre. AIRS Level-1 data by NASA DES DISC
posted by cenoxo at 2:49 PM on January 23, 2022 [1 favorite]
400,000 lightning events over the Hunga-Tonga eruption in a few hours (with a peak rate of 200,000 in 1 hour) on January 15, 2022.
posted by cenoxo at 3:08 PM on January 23, 2022
posted by cenoxo at 3:08 PM on January 23, 2022
“This instrument has been operating for something like 20 years now and we have never seen such nice concentric wave patterns”…
...much to everyone's relief?
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:01 PM on January 23, 2022
...much to everyone's relief?
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 4:01 PM on January 23, 2022
For all we know, they may already have called Elon about Starship reservations. However, they calmly described them as “nice concentric weather patterns” (as opposed to “terrifying” or “HOLY SHIT!” concentric weather patterns).
posted by cenoxo at 5:23 PM on January 23, 2022
posted by cenoxo at 5:23 PM on January 23, 2022
I was more thinking about the description of something as 'nice' created by something so deadly. Seemed perhaps a bit tone deaf?
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 6:05 PM on January 23, 2022
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 6:05 PM on January 23, 2022
True. Things don’t get more serious than when there’s nowhere to run, and all you can do is wait:
The day the world went dark: Survivor recalls disaster in Tonga – Resident of the main island of Tongatapu says deafening sound, rain of sulphur ash followed Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai’s eruption., ALJAZEERA, Sanya Ruggiero, 23 Jan 2022.posted by cenoxo at 4:12 AM on January 24, 2022
“It came on the radio – a tsunami warning for all of Tonga…I can’t describe the feeling. Seeing my daughter huddled in the passenger’s seat, crying, asking if we’ll be alright, asking about the rest of our family.
“It literally feels like an apocalyptic horror movie but worse, much worse.”
Tevita Fukofuka was in the Tongan capital Nuku’alofa on January 15, the fateful day the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted and seared itself into his memory. The young father and local government worker took to Facebook to post an emotional diary entry he penned last week, 24 hours after his country’s harrowing ordeal.
The first explosion rang out from the now infamous volcano at approximately 6pm local time (04:00 GMT)….
A survivor from Mango Island: ‘Kids were screaming as if a war was upon us.’
A magnitude 6.2m earthquake struck off the coast of Tonga today, although a local journalist says they felt nothing in Nuku‘alofa.
Covid outbreak strikes Australian aid ship bound for virus-free Tonga, not long after a supply plane was turned around for the same reason. A Royal Navy ship arrived yesterday and unloaded aid by crane.
How will Tonga's broken internet cable be mended?
Tonga is dropping out of the global news cycle, but it will be a slow road to recovery for the country.
posted by rory at 7:31 AM on January 27, 2022
A magnitude 6.2m earthquake struck off the coast of Tonga today, although a local journalist says they felt nothing in Nuku‘alofa.
Covid outbreak strikes Australian aid ship bound for virus-free Tonga, not long after a supply plane was turned around for the same reason. A Royal Navy ship arrived yesterday and unloaded aid by crane.
How will Tonga's broken internet cable be mended?
Tonga is dropping out of the global news cycle, but it will be a slow road to recovery for the country.
posted by rory at 7:31 AM on January 27, 2022
Ordinary Tongan Lives on Facebook is gathering stories of the eruption.
Before and after images at Gizmodo. The pictures of Nomuka and Mango are particularly shocking.
posted by rory at 1:23 AM on January 28, 2022
Before and after images at Gizmodo. The pictures of Nomuka and Mango are particularly shocking.
posted by rory at 1:23 AM on January 28, 2022
As feared, aid deliveries have brought Covid to Tonga.
Tsunami models underestimated the shockwave from the Tonga eruption. The eruption was so intense, it caused the atmosphere to ring like a bell.
posted by rory at 3:23 AM on February 2, 2022
Tsunami models underestimated the shockwave from the Tonga eruption. The eruption was so intense, it caused the atmosphere to ring like a bell.
posted by rory at 3:23 AM on February 2, 2022
Squeezing in one more update before the thread closes.
Why the Tongan eruption will go down in the history of volcanology.
Tonga's underwater volcanic eruption triggered nearly 590,000 lightning strikes.
The eruption as seen from 73km away.
First-hand video of the tsunami.
‘They didn’t think help was coming’: a month on from the tsunami.
Tonga's PM counts the mental health cost of the tsunami.
How Tonga is trying to recover from the eruption.
Tonga needs over $90 million to start repairs from the volcano.
Tonga is a reminder that the laws governing undersea cables need modernising.
Tonga suffers its first COVID outbreak after receiving foreign aid.
posted by rory at 4:30 AM on February 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
Why the Tongan eruption will go down in the history of volcanology.
Tonga's underwater volcanic eruption triggered nearly 590,000 lightning strikes.
The eruption as seen from 73km away.
First-hand video of the tsunami.
‘They didn’t think help was coming’: a month on from the tsunami.
Tonga's PM counts the mental health cost of the tsunami.
How Tonga is trying to recover from the eruption.
Tonga needs over $90 million to start repairs from the volcano.
Tonga is a reminder that the laws governing undersea cables need modernising.
Tonga suffers its first COVID outbreak after receiving foreign aid.
posted by rory at 4:30 AM on February 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
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