Russian physicists have discovered that volcanic eruptions can damage the ionosphere from thousands of kilometers away: volcanic dust can spread quite quickly through space, affecting electron concentration, leaving holes in the ionosphere. This is VIOYu to socialbites.ca. Schmidt RAS, Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Sergey Shalimov.
Shortly after the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Khaapai volcano in the Tonga archipelago in January 2022, S. Shalimov and his colleagues noticed unexpected variations while probing the ionosphere with ultra-long radio waves in the region from Australia to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. In the amplitude and phase of the VLF field.
“It turned out that these were caused not by internal atmospheric waves, but by dust expelled during a volcanic eruption. It was originally believed that the cloud of volcanic dust and gas rose to a height of 30 km. Later, it was learned that the material was launched into the lower ionosphere at an altitude of 60 km. Why did such changes in the phase of the signal occur? Because the ionosphere is an environment with a high concentration of charged particles in which electrons and ions are separated. The more mobile electrons charge the powder, they become less in the surrounding space. Holes formed in the ionosphere, to which, roughly speaking, the emitted signal reacted,” he said.
The ionosphere protects the Earth from cosmic radiation, therefore, the formation of such holes in it can be fraught with excessive radiation exposure. Also, such gaps in the upper layers of the ionosphere can disrupt the operation of navigation devices, which can be especially dangerous for aircraft. Although such holes usually close quickly, they may begin to form more frequently due to possible future climate changes.