General Volcanic Activity Thread!

[summer blizzard]

39km is much larger than the initial 19km estimate and would support vei6. I am unsure whether they measure peak height or from the initial explosive column.

Edited January 20, 2022 by summer blizzard

[BLAST FROM THE PAST]

On 18/01/2022 at 22:18, Alderc said:

NASA estimates Tonga blast at ~10mega tonnes and possibly the loudest noise since 1883.

 

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That was Krakatoa wasn’t it?  This is a major eruption and being corrected upwards all the time.  Is this the major eruption anticipated as per my sig?  I don’t know.  Bit it’s ejected SO2 so high there’s going to be a global effect no doubt.

 

BFTP

[Downburst]

 

Erik Klemetti, associate professor of Geosciences at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, said the sulfur dioxide spewed into the atmosphere by the Hunga Tonga eruption was "well below the usual threshold for anything that's going to have any significant impact on climate in general."

"Scientists have also estimated from satellite data the total SO2 mass from the Saturday eruption was 0.4 teragrams -- 400 million kilograms -- of SO2, which is well below what scientists say could significantly alter global climate.

For instance, the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991 released 15 to 20 teragrams of SO2 high into the atmosphere, resulting in a 0.6 degree Celsius (1 degree Fahrenheit) drop in global temperature over the next 15 months, according to NASA."

For anyone with any interest in the science you can view the SO2 released and and it height at various hPa on the Copernicus site.

[SnowThunder]

30 minutes ago, BLAST FROM THE PAST said:

That was Krakatoa wasn’t it?

Krakatoa was estimated at 200 megatons so 20x more explosive which makes you wonder if we had the technology we had today to view it from space, just how it would look, it would surely be something magnificient and hypnotic as most destructive forces usually look

Edited January 20, 2022 by SnowThunder

[SnowBear]

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano (Tonga) activity update: third lap of shockwave recorded

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Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano (Tonga, Tonga Islands): news & activity updates

 

 

[SnowBear]

Revised estimate for the height of the Tonga volcano plume.... 

An indicator of the great power of last Saturday's volcanic eruption in Tonga is the height reached by its plume.

UK scientists examining weather satellite data calculate it to be around 55km (35 miles) above the Earth's surface.

This is at the boundary of the stratosphere and mesosphere layers in the atmosphere.

Dr Simon Proud, from RAL Space, said these were "unheard-of altitudes" for a volcanic plume.

The most powerful eruption in the second half of the 20th Century came from Mount Pinatubo in 1991. Its plume is thought to have climbed to roughly 40km.

However, it's possible today's more accurate satellites would have given a higher altitude for the Philippines event, cautioned Dr Proud, who is affiliated to the UK National Centre for Earth

 

Tonga volcano: Plume reached half-way to space

WWW.BBC.CO.UK

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The cloud of ash and water vapour climbed 55km (35 miles) into the sky, satellite data suggests.

[summer blizzard]

Definitely VEI6 based in this data. Or we need to adjust the plume height to VEI scale to take into account modern sattelites.

[matty40s]

I wonder whether anything strange was felt in Algeria when the pressure waves bounced??

[SnowBear]

2 hours ago, matty40s said:

I wonder whether anything strange was felt in Algeria when the pressure waves bounced??

I wondered this as all that energy in the pressure wave would be coming together at one location and then rebounding. 

[Ross90]

3 hours ago, summer blizzard said:

Definitely VEI6 based in this data. Or we need to adjust the plume height to VEI scale to take into account modern sattelites.

Does the plume height alone change the VEI rating? How does it work if the material released was a 5 but the height was a 6? 

[summer blizzard]

43 minutes ago, Ross90 said:

Does the plume height alone change the VEI rating? How does it work if the material released was a 5 but the height was a 6? 

I think volume of tephra ejected is the classification but there's usually a correlation.

[crimsone]

VEI is measured according to the mount of material erupted rather than the force at which it's erupted. 

There is, of course, a general correlation, which is why the metric is used.

[Snowyowl9]

Oil spill pollutes 21 beaches in Peru after eruption in Tonga causes tsunami

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A ship, hit by waves by an incoming tsunami, accidentally dumped over 6000 barrels of oil into the ocean.

Oil spill pollutes 21 beaches in Peru after eruption in Tonga causes tsunami

[Summerstorm]

On 22/01/2022 at 13:44, summer blizzard said:

I think volume of tephra ejected is the classification but there's usually a correlation.

Yeah that's correct but I feel like the volume will be lower than the likes of Krakatoa because the eruption only lasted for an hour or two compared to the usual 12-24 hours. 

This is where it becomes difficult to classify it as then you have to ask what would have happened if an eruption at the same intensity happened on land? 

Edited January 23, 2022 by Summerstorm

[summer blizzard]

1 hour ago, Summerstorm said:

Yeah that's correct but I feel like the volume will be lower than the likes of Krakatoa because the eruption only lasted for an hour or two compared to the usual 12-24 hours. 

This is where it becomes difficult to classify it as then you have to ask what would have happened if an eruption at the same intensity happened on land? 

I would imagine the eruption would have actually been smaller, you have to contrast the more stable eruptive chamber (though it's worth saying part of the volcano is above sea level - not sure which vent blew) against the fact that the eruption was amplified by being pheromagmatic.

The short nature means that it would have probably being a VEI4 type if on pure land.  Krakatoa of course probably got the best of both worlds being a massive  eruption that went pheromagmatic late on.

[Mapantz]

On 23/01/2022 at 18:18, Summerstorm said:

I feel like the volume will be lower than the likes of Krakatoa

Yep

0.5 cubic kilometres for Hunga Tonga vs 45 cubic kilometres for Krakatoa.

[SnowBear]

On 26/01/2022 at 18:16, Mapantz said:

Yep

0.5 cubic kilometres for Hunga Tonga vs 45 cubic kilometres for Krakatoa.

Hunga Tonga for me seemed to be more akin to a gas explosion. Short and sharp. 

[Dreckly]

Inside La Palma’s restricted area after devastating volcanic eruption finally declared over

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Vegetation area from the access to one of the restricted areas of La Palma affected by the eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcano (Getty) The ...

Article on the devistation caused post eruption. 

[Snowyowl9]

Kermadec ialands region near tonga again..6.6 more like 7.4 quake..

 

[Guest]

There’s still a lot of seismic activity right over the Hunga Tonga, multiple 3-5mag earthquakes everyday, either the caldera is collapsing or there a sizeable fresh injection of magna? 

[Allseasons-Si]

Mount Etna is erupting...

Live Cam Etna North | SkylineWebcams

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View of the summit craters, northern side of Mount Etna Live cam

 

[Allseasons-Si]

With sound

 

[The PIT]

Damn missed it video of pryroclastic flow

 

[SnowBear]

The aftermath of the Tonga volcano has left 80% of the population effected by the tsunami or ash, with most houses destroyed. 

On top of that, they have 139 cases of covid (hopefully Omicron, the milder variant). 

All giving rise to big mental health issues being seen in the population. 

Tonga PM counts mental health 'cost' of disasters

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In an exclusive interview with the BBC, PM Siaosi Sovaleni says rebuilding mental health is a challenge.

 

 

[The PIT]

Imagine what a vei 7 would do to the world right now.