Huge volcanic eruption that blew whole island to smithereens was so big it sent shockwaves into SPACE, scientists reveal

Scottish Sun

28-04-2025

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A VOLCANO in the South Pacific erupted with such force that it sent shockwaves into space, scientists have revealed.
The enormous underwater eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in January 2022 was one of the biggest in modern history.
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The explosive eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano, located in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga
Credit: EPA
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A plume of smoke rising from the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai days before its eruption
Credit: Reuters
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The eruption on 15 January 2022 sent shockwaves into space, scientists have now revealed
Credit: EPA
Its blast sent a plume of ash and gas over 31 miles into the air, far above the usual cruising altitude of commercial airliners.
But a new study has examined the staggering scale of the shockwaves caused by the gargantuan eruption.
Ripples from the blast didn't just rattle land and sea, but made it all the way into space - shaking the area where satellites orbit our planet.
Research published in AGU examined how the volcano was able sent shockwaves into the cosmos.
The eruption triggered violent tsunamis that devastated the surrounding islands.
Images taken in the wake of the disaster showed the island of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha'apai was wiped off the map.
While fewer than 10 people were reported to have died, the eruption affected 85 per cent of Tonga' s population and caused an estimated $182 million in damage according to the World Bank.
Many residents' homes and livelihoods were destroyed by the volcano's devastating blast - which the government of Tonga called an "unprecedented disaster".
Scientists look at two main possible culprits for the scale of the boom in the latest research.
They concluded that secondary gravity waves were the most likely explanation.
These waves are generated when the initial shockwaves break apart in the sky, according to Gizmodo.
"Lamb waves", pressure waves which hug the surface of the Earth, were considered as an option.
"The extraordinary eruption of the Tonga volcano on 15 January 2022 lofted material to heights exceeding 50 km, marking the highest observed since the satellite era," the research paper says.
"This eruption caused significant disturbances spanning from the hydrosphere up to the thermosphere.
"Our recent investigation discovered the dramatic thermospheric responses at satellite altitudes."
The 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption was reportedly the most explosive of the 21st century so far at the time.
The volcano exploded underwater between the islands of Hunga Tonga and Hunga Haʻapai.
It briefly bridged the water between the two uninhabited islands, although this land bridge later collapsed back into the sea.
Every home on the smaller outer island of Mango was destroyed in its wake - with many other islands experiencing similar levels of devastation.
Tsunamis reached thousands of miles across the Pacific as far as Peru.
People 10,000km away in Alaska could reportedly hear a boom, the BBC reported at the time.
The explosion is believed to have rivalled the power of the Tsar Bomba - the largest nuclear weapon ever detonated.
Some researchers have previously suggested it could be the most violent eruption since the 1883 Krakatoa eruption in terms of atmospheric disturbance.