2023-06-27 19:28:00
Published on June 27, 2023 at 3:28 p.m.
Updated June 27, 2023 at 6:30 p.m.
More than a year and a half after its eruption, the Hunga Tonga submarine volcano continues to be talked about. Details.
The most powerful volcanic eruption
Between January 14 and 15, 2022, the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga erupts in the western Pacific Ocean. It spits ash, water and magmatic gases into the mesosphere, a layer of the atmosphere located between 50 and 90 km above sea level.
This is the most powerful volcanic eruption ever recorded to date. From a tsunami hitting the Japanese coast to a shock wave that circled the Earth twice, we still remember its many impacts.
new records
A year and a half later, the analysis of new data has rekindled the exceptional character of the event. Thanks to the observations of two geostationary satellites, scientists were able to determine more precisely the extent of the volcanic storm produced.
To understand this, let’s go back: Just after the eruption in 2022, the plume of smoke had rapidly spread outward in circular ripples, called gravity waves. These waves had triggered the formation of rings of lightning, some measuring up to 280 km in diameter.
January 16, 2022: Smoke plume visible from space. Source: NASA
In a study published in Geophysical Research Letters in June 2023, the authors revealed startling figures regarding this phenomenon. At the heart of the storm, we would have recorded more than 2600 lightning per minute, some of which at 30 kilometers altitude. This is not only a frequency record, but also an altitude record for lightning.
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