Tonga Record eruption of underground volcanoes in January released a large amount of water vapor into the atmosphere, which could warm the earth in the coming months.
Underwater Hurga Tonga-Humga Hapay volcano erupted on January 15. Photo: Tonga Geology Bureau
According to Live Science on September 24, researchers estimate that the eruption of underground volcanoes released 45 million tons of water vapor and a large amount of volcanic ash and gas into the atmosphere. According to a new study published in the journal Science , a large amount of water vapor increases humidity in the global stratosphere by about 5%, which may trigger cycles of stratosphere cooling and warming the Earth's surface. These effects may last for months.
Hungatonga-Hungahapa erupted on January 13 and peaked in two days, and is the most powerful volcanic eruption on Earth in decades. According to data from the NOAA (NOAA), the volcanic eruption spread 260 kilometers, and the volcanic ash , steam and gas columns rose by more than 20 kilometers. More than eight months later, scientists are still analyzing the impact of this historic event.
Volcano emits approximately 400,000 tons of SO2, which is 2% of SO2 released by Pinatubo volcano when it erupted in 1991. The volcano sprays a lot of water into the stratosphere. According to National Weather Service (NWS), stratosphere starts to rise to 50 km from an altitude of approximately 6 to 20 km. The research team said that most of the energy of the undersea volcanic eruption comes from the interaction between water and heat magma . This interaction pushes a lot of water and steam into the eruption column . Within 24 hours, the eruption column rose to 28 km in the atmosphere.
The team of scientists analyzed the amount of water in the column by evaluating data collected by detectors connected to meteorological balloons and flying into the erupting column. As they fly across the atmosphere, the sensor measures temperature, air pressure, and relative humidity and transmits data to a receiver on the ground. The water vapor in the atmosphere absorbs solar radiation and distributes it as heat.
As tens of millions of tons of water from volcanoes hover in the stratosphere, the Earth's surface will warm, although experts are not sure how far. However, water vapor is lighter than other volcanic aerosols and is less susceptible to gravity, so this warming effect takes longer to dissipate. The team said warming on the Earth's surface could last for months.
In this new study, scientists also determined that large amounts of water vapor may alter the chemical cycles associated with ozone in the stratosphere. However, they said that if they want to calculate the effect of water vapor on ozone levels, more detailed studies are needed, as other chemical reactions may have effects, too.
