On January 15th, 2022, the Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano exploded in the nation of
Tonga in what was the largest volcanic eruption of the 21st century.
This eruption obliterated the existing island, causing a 4 kilometer wide section of ground
to drop by 750 meters or 2,460 feet.
It is now 10 months later, and new data suggests something stunning.
The eruption which occurred on that day may have produced the longest known pyroclastic
flow to occur on the planet in more than 1,000 years.
Preliminary evidence suggests that pyroclastic flows travelled up to 50 miles or 80 kilometers
from the volcano's summit in a large radius.
What is even more stunning is this did not occur strictly above the ocean surface but
rather largely underwater.
These pyroclastic flows rather than a volcanic landslide or the various tsunamis generated
by the eruption are what destroyed a segment of Tonga's internet cable.
For context, pyroclastic flows are superheated currents of volcanic gas, ash, and other eruptive
products which travel laterally out of a volcanic eruption, largely being directed by gravity.
For example, during the catastrophic 1980 eruption of Mount Saint Helens, pyroclastic
flows travelled 5 miles or 8 kilometers from the erupting vent.
In contrast, the January 15th eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai was about an order
of magnitude larger and occurred at shallow depths underwater.
Another volcano which spectacularly exploded in an enormous volcanic eruption was Krakatau
in 1883, and due to the abundance of water around it and the nature of the eruption,
pyroclastic flows from that eruption travelled 80 kilometers, burning terrain on Sumatra's
coastline.
Although the eruption of Hunga Tonga was smaller than Krakatau in 1883, new data has raised
the amount of material it ejected from 6.5 cubic kilometers to 9.5 cubic kilometers.
This means the eruption was definitively the largest to occur on the planet since 1991
when Mount Pinatubo erupted, being slightly more than 7 times the size of the 1980 eruption
of Mount Saint Helens.
This fact is best showcased by the large patches of destroyed sealife and ash which coat an
area larger than the state of Delaware.
A new report also clarified that Hunga Tonga could still technically be erupting as a newly
formed volcanic cone seems to be actively venting within the caldera.
However, it is unclear if this represents a true eruption or a form of fumarole littoral
cone resulting from still cooling lava or pyroclastic deposits.
For a number of reasons, this eruption was highly unusual and historic.
It produced tsunami waves which were up to 90 meters or 295 feet tall which would go
on to cause damage to swaths of Tonga, New Zealand, and sections of the entire Pacific
Ocean; even as far away as Peru.
The climatic explosion had an energy release in the range of 30 million tons TNT simultaneously
detonating, creating the world's loudest sound since 1883.
The sound of the eruption was verifiably heard by people on separate continents, even at
various cities within Alaska.
Several of my viewers also reported hearing the blast at an even further distance at the
time the sound would have been expected to reach where they lived, in areas such as Yukon
in Canada and Kentucky in the United States.
Due to the energy of this explosion, it created atmospheric waves which as they travelled
temporarily pushed water down before rebounding, causing a small scale meteotsunami to effect
the entire planet.
The eruption created the highest eruption column ever recorded, reaching 58 kilometers
or 190,000 feet into the atmosphere, which would go on to cause unusual sunsets around
the planet.
Due to the more than 100 million metric tons of water the eruption ejected, it increased
the water content of the stratosphere by 10% which has resulted in a short term warming
effect.
Since the eruption was unusually sulfur dioxide poor for its massive size, this eruption may
be the first explosive event to warm instead of cool the planet.
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