In the early morning hours on September 10th of 2022, it was relatively quiet in the nation
of Tonga.
Although one volcano was erupting, Tofua, it had been erupting for some time and was
relatively minor in nature.
Then, at 1:39 am local time, per Tonga Geological Services, a submarine volcano began to show
signs of life as seismic stations picked up a distinctive signal from the volcano.
And no, this volcano was not Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai, which produced the largest explosive
eruption on the planet in the last 30 years earlier this year.
Instead, the volcano in question was located a bit further north just below sea level at
a mere 10 meters or 33 feet below sea level, being known as Home Reef.
As this volcano began to erupt, the shallow lava interacted with the overlying oceanwater,
causing a quantity of it to flash to steam, aiding in the generation of a so called "surtseyan"
eruption.
This eruption type frequently occurs at volcanoes just below or above sea level, which often
form brand new islands, and is named after its documentation during the 1963 to 1967
island forming eruption of Surtsey.
After approximately 12 hours of Home Reef erupting, a brand new volcanic island rose
above the ocean surface.
It was given a preliminary measurement of 70 meters wide and its tallest point had a
height of 10 meters above sea level.
Although ash has officially not yet been detected at the ongoing eruption of Home Reef, it is
safe to assume that ash will be produced like previously seen due to the nature of this
volcano.
The ongoing eruption has however generated a plume of steam and volcanic gasses which
rose up to a height of 1,000 meters or 3,280 feet.
As a result of this sequence of events, a 3 kilometer exclusion zone was declared around
the volcano.
So, how long will this eruption last?
Will it have any similarities to the large eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai earlier
this year?
This video will answer these two questions and discuss the ongoing volcanic eruption.
The Home Reef volcano is located 240 kilometers north of the island of Tongatapu, where it
is inbetween two other volcanic islands; Metis Shoal to the south and the unpopulated Late
Island to the north.
Like the vast majority of the 20 other active volcanoes within Tonga, the Home Reef volcano
exists due the collision of two tectonic plates.
To the east of the island, the Pacific Plate is subducting underneath the Indo-Australian
plate.
The melted material from this collision then migrates upwards, until it erupts onto the
seafloor, building a chain of volcanoes.
Over time, some of these volcanoes reach the ocean surface, becoming volcanic islands.
The Home Reef volcano may not look like much, as much of its edifice is underwater.
There, a towering volcanic cone rises from a depth of 1,000 meters to just above water.
It can thus be assumed that this volcano has been erupting for many thousands of years
if not longer.
Much like the Fukutoko Okanoba volcano in Japan, the Home Reef volcano has on several
occasions formed large volcanic islands which were washed away after a period of months
to years.
This occurred in both 1984, forming a 1500 meter long, 500 meter wide, and 50 meter tall
island and in 2006, forming a slightly smaller island.
These eruptions were both moderately explosive, rating on the volcanic explosivity index as
a 3 and a 2, respectively.
While its eruption plumes tend to not travel very far, its 1984 plume was unusually energetic,
reaching a height of 12 kilometers or 39,400 feet.
Thus, I advice that pilots stay at least 15 kilometers away from this volcano for the
time being.
At the Home Reef volcano, its overall eruptions have been quite brief, lasting between 5 and
10 days in length.
Thus, while an eruption could occur outside that range, it for the moment seems quite
likely that this volcano will no longer be erupting as of September 20th of 2022.
Although some people are worried that Home Reef could represent another Hunga Tonga repeat,
this is not the case.
For one, the composition of lavas at Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai is different than those
at Home Reef.
But, more importantly, Hunga Tonga has a record of 3 powerful caldera forming or deepening
eruptions, while Home Reef does not have such a record and also does not have a caldera.
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