Surface-to-space atmospheric waves from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption

Corwin J. Wright (1) , Neil P. Hindley (1) , M. Joan Alexander (2) , Mathew Barlow (3) , Lars Hoffmann (4) , Cathryn N. Mitchell (1) , Fred Prata (5, 6) , Marie Bouillon (7) , Justin Carstens (8) , Cathy Clerbaux (7) , Scott M. Osprey (9) , Nick Powell (10) , Cora E. Randall (11) , Jia Yue (12, 13)

1 CSAOS - Centre for Space, Atmospheric and Oceanic Science [Bath]
2 NWRA - NorthWest Research Associates [Boulder]
3 Department of Environmental, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences [Lowell]
4 JSC - Jülich Supercomputing Centre
5 AIRES Pty. Ltd.
6 School of Electrical Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Science
7 TROPO - LATMOS
8 The Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering [Blacksburg]
9 AOPP - Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics [Oxford]
10 Raytheon BBN Technologies
11 LASP - Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics [Boulder]
12 GSFC - NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
13 Catholic University of America

The January 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption was one of the most explosive volcanic events of the modern era1,2, producing a vertical plume which peaked > 50km above the Earth3. The initial explosion and subsequent plume triggered atmospheric waves which propagated around the world multiple times4. A global-scale wave response of this magnitude from a single source has not previously been observed. Here we show the details of this response, using a comprehensive set of satellite and ground-based observations to quantify it from surface to ionosphere. A broad spectrum of waves was triggered by the initial explosion, including Lamb waves5,6 propagating at phase speeds of 318.2±6 ms-1 at surface level and between 308±5 to 319±4 ms-1 in the stratosphere, and gravity waves7 propagating at 238±3 to 269±3 ms-1 in the stratosphere. Gravity waves at sub-ionospheric heights have not previously been observed propagating at this speed or over the whole Earth from a single source8,9. Latent heat release from the plume remained the most significant individual gravity wave source worldwide for >12 hours, producing circular wavefronts visible across the Pacific basin in satellite observations. A single source dominating such a large region is also unique in the observational record. The Hunga Tonga eruption represents a key natural experiment in how the atmosphere responds to a sudden point-source-driven state change, which will be of use for improving weather and climate models.

Domaines: Physique Atmosphérique et Océanique [physics.ao-ph]; Volcanologie

Corwin J. Wright, Neil P. Hindley, M. Joan Alexander, Mathew Barlow, Lars Hoffmann, et al.. Surface-to-space atmospheric waves from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption. Nature, 2022, 609, pp.741-746. ⟨10.1038/s41586-022-05012-5⟩. ⟨insu-03741099⟩