Mysterious Signal Preceded The Most Powerful Eruption of Modern Times

19 November 2024
By Russell McLendon



A satellite view of the eruption at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai on January 15, 2022. (NASA)

In January 2022, the most powerful explosion ever recorded with modern instruments rocked the South Pacific. Now, scientists have identified a mysterious signal that preceded the thunderous event.

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, an underwater volcano in the Tongan archipelago, erupted violently on January 15, 2022. According to a new study though, two faraway monitoring stations recorded a seismic wave some 15 minutes earlier.

The authors of the study describe the wave as a "seismic precursor" for the subsequent eruption, both of which were triggered by a collapse in a weak section of oceanic crust below the volcano's caldera wall.

This fracture let both seawater and magma gush into the zone between the seafloor and the volcano's underground magma chamber, the study's authors explain, sparking an explosive eruption.

More:
https://www.sciencealert.com/mysterious-signal-preceded-the-most-powerful-eruption-of-modern-times