Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Two were martyred in an initial toll of the Israeli drone strike that targeted the al-Asira neighborhood in the city of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: An Israeli drone strike targeted the al-Asira neighborhood east of Baalbek, eastern Lebanon
Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are the greatest resistance. Know that 'Israel' will fall because it embodies aggression, crime, and occupation; victory is truly yours
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: The value of what you are doing despite your wounds is immense, and here you are, treading the path of the Master of Nation's Martyrs and the leaders
Sheikh Qassem to the pager attack survivors: You are moving forward with insight deeper than sight itself. The enemy sought to eliminate your role in the battle, yet you remain steadfast and continue the fight
Hezbollah Secretary-General Sheikh Naim Qassem to the pager attack survivors one year later: You are healing from your wounds and rising above them. You have successfully passed the test
Palestinian media: Reports of stabbing operation in occupied al-Quds.
Israeli media: Sirens blare in Arava in South, near Ramon Airport.
Egyptian PM Mostafa Madbouli: Egypt is targeted in plans to redraw regional map
AEOI Chief Mohammad Eslami: Our presence in IAEA General Council and fact-checking helped in preventing unilateral rhetoric that aims to portray Iran as an unregulated country

Tonga volcano was the first ever to send debris into the mesosphere

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 21 Nov 2022 09:16
3 Min Read

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted underwater in January and the debris has been in the atmosphere for months.

  • x
  • Geologist observing as the volcano erupted (Tonga Geological Services)
    Geologist observing as the volcano erupted (Tonga Geological Services)

A team of scientists led by New Zealand said Monday that the catastrophic volcanic explosion in Tonga in January was the greatest ever observed using current technology.

In the Pacific Island Kingdom of Tonga, the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted underwater with the force of hundreds of atomic bombs, causing a 15-meter tsunami that destroyed homes and claimed at least three lives.

The natural disaster also hampered attempts to aid the victims by damaging underwater communication cables that cut Tonga off from the rest of the world for weeks.

The volcano blew out almost 10 cubic kilometers of material, which is equal to 2.6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools according to a thorough study by New Zealand's national institute for water and atmospheric research. 

The eruption further fired debris more than 40 kilometers into the mesosphere, the level above the Earth's stratosphere, and Kevin Mackay, a marine geologist, indicated that "the eruption reached record heights, being the first we've ever seen to break through into the mesosphere," adding that "it was like a shotgun blast directly into the sky."

Related News

Klyuchevskoy volcano erupts hours after 8.8 quake in Kamchatka

Russian volcano erupts after 7.0 earthquake, code red aircraft alert

One of the biggest since Krakatoa

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption is comparable to the notorious Krakatoa tragedy, which occurred in Indonesia in 1883 and claimed tens of thousands of lives before the development of modern measurement technology.

"While this eruption was large -- one of the biggest since Krakatoa -- the difference here is that it's an underwater volcano and it's also part of the reason we got such big tsunami waves," Mackay added.

Approximately two cubic kilometers of particles, which lingered in the atmosphere for "months, causing the stunning sunsets we saw," according to Mackay, were thought to have been confined in the plume, which spread as far away as New Zealand in the Pacific.

Additionally, his team found that the volcano's crater had receded 700 meters. Debris from the volcano was carried along the ocean floor at least 80 kilometers away by the eruption's pyroclastic flows, which are deadly currents of lava, volcanic ash, and gases that can reach temperatures of 1,000 degrees Centigrade (1,800 degrees Fahrenheit) and speeds of 700 kilometers per hour.

The team's principal scientist Emily Lane explained that the volcano's "pyroclastic flows appear to extend beyond that, perhaps as far as 100 kilometers away," adding that "the sheer force of the flows is astonishing -- we saw deposits in valleys beyond the volcano, meaning they had enough power to flow uphill over huge ridges and then back down again."

Read more: Huge Tonga volcanic eruption wreaks havoc

  • Volcanic eruption
  • Volcano eruption
  • New Zealand
  • Tonga volcano
  • Tonga

Most Read

Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

Lapid: Egypt’s Arab Force plan a 'severe blow' to normalization

  • Palestine
  • 14 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Britain Trained Israeli Soldiers Involved in Gaza War: Declassified
Europe

UK training of Israeli officers sparks outcry over Gaza war complicity

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Luc Frieden arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, June 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Omar Havana)
Politics

Luxembourg to recognize Palestine at UN summit next week

European Union flags flap in the wind outside EU headquarters in Brussels, Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

EU exec. branch to adopt new sanctions against 'Israel' on Wednesday

Charlie Kirk killing suspect faces charges in Utah court hearing
US & Canada

Charlie Kirk murder suspect faces formal charges in Utah court hearing

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS