January 16, 2022 - The Start of Something Big: Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcano
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Smoke From Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha
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On January 13, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of
the start of something big—a massive volcanic eruption on from an
undersea volcano in Tonga that triggered tsunami waves on January 15
which impacted coastal areas from New Zealand to Alaska.
This image captures a large gas, steam, and ash cloud pouring from the
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’pai volcano on January 13, just before an eruption
flung a dark cloud of ash 55,000 feet (16,800 meters) into the air.
Steam, gas, ash, and lava activity isn’t new at the volcano, which has
been in a new eruptive phase since December 2021. However, the January
13 large ash eruption came after about a week of relative quiet at the
volcano.
On January 14, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center Wellington (VAAC)
reported a very large eruption at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’pai, based on
satellite imagery. At that time, the steam obscured the ash plume and
the height of the ash plume was unknown. According to the Global Alert
and Disaster Coordination System (GDACS), a 5.8 magnitude earthquake
was registered from Tonga on that day, at a depth of 5 km, with 800,000
people within 100 km of the quake.
By the morning of January 15, GDACS recorded a second large earthquake
(4.5 magnitude) and the volcano exploded in a “major vent-clearing
event”, according to a report from ABC NEWS in Australia. The eruption
was heard in New Zealand, 1,300 miles away, and Alaska, which sits
roughly 6,000 miles away. The powerful explosion—made even stronger by
sizzling hot magma reacting with cold ocean water—triggered a tsunami.
Waves washed over nearby islands, knocking down communication lines,
flooding coastlines, and forcing evacuations from low-lying areas.
Australia offered to send reconnaissance flights over Tonga’s islands
to assess damage, but as of late on January 15, the thick plume of ash
prevented such flights from occurring.
Tsunami waves coursed across the vast Pacific Ocean, bringing surges of
more than 3 feet to Alaska, coastal flooding in California, and smaller
surges in Oregon, Washington State, British Columbia, Mexico, South
America, Hawaii, and Japan. By the late evening of January 15, tsunami
warnings had been downgraded or cancelled along most of the Pacific
basin. Some speculate that the January 15 eruption was among the
strongest in the 21st century—a theory that will be tested as
scientists sort through data and damage estimates over the next few
weeks or months.
An astounding video of the massive eruption captured by NOAA's GOES
West satellite on January 13 can be viewed here
Image Facts
Satellite: Aqua
Date Acquired: 1/13/2022
Resolutions: 1km (593.1 KB), 500m (1.5 MB), 250m (948.8 KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC
https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-01-16
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