Tonga underwater volcano impact can affect ozone layer: Here's what you should know
Categories: US NEWS
Tongaunderwater volcano impact can affect ozone layer: Here's what you should know
The intense Hunga Tonga–Hunga Hapai eruption on January 15,2022 broke all records for direct injection of water vapor by volcanoes orotherwise in a "satellite age". It also sent huge amounts of ashinto the stratosphere. According to a study published in Geophysical Letters,the powerful explosion sprayed water vapor up to a height of 53 km.
"The Tonga eruption may be the first volcanic eruption that affectsclimate not because of surface cooling due to volcanic sulfate aerosols, butbecause of surface warming due to excess water vapor," the studysaid. According to Live Science, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Hapai volcano eruptedwith a force equivalent to 100 Hiroshima bombs, making it the most powerfuleruption on Earth in more than 30 years.
The explosion shook the entire world, causing the atmosphereto "ringlike a bell" and tsunamis pounding adjacent beaches. The explosioncaused more than 590,000 lightning strikes over the course of three days. Itsclouds of ash and dust rose higher in the atmosphere than in any previouseruption in history.
According to experts from the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA), the University of Edinburgh and Northwest ResearchAssociates, the explosion injected an unparalleled amount of water—enough tofill 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools.
"This eruption may affect climate not through surface cooling due tosulfate aerosols, but through surface warming due to radiative forcing fromexcess stratospheric H2O," the study said. " This meansthat this extra water could radiate heat, warming the atmosphere in the sameway that greenhouse gases do, the researchers caution.
The warming effect of the water will likely outweigh anycooling effect of the gases as it is projected to persist longer than othervolcanic gases such as sulfur dioxide, which is usually out of the atmospherewithin two to three years. go. According to geologists, this indicates that theTonga eruption will probably be the first known eruption to have a warmingeffect on the world rather than a cooling effect.