The eruption of Tonga volcano in 2022 created the most powerful natural eruption in at least 100 years. Reported by the University of Miami.
On January 15, 2022, the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Haapai volcano in the country of Tonga (Polynesia) erupted. This eruption was the most powerful in the 21st century, with a column of ash reaching the stratosphere, rising to a height of 58 kilometers, while also throwing 146 teragrams (trillion grams) of water into the stratosphere. Atmospheric fluctuations caused by the explosion reached Moscow and circled the Earth several times.
Now Sam Purkis and his colleagues have decided to measure his full strength. To do this, scientists at the University of Auckland used a combination of before and after satellite imagery, drone mapping and field observations. The results showed that the region’s complex shallow seafloor acted as a low-velocity wave trap, creating a tsunami with waves up to 85 meters high one minute after the initial eruption. The scientists also created a dynamic 3D model of the eruption and the ensuing tsunami.
The power of the explosion was about 15 megatons of TNT, and in this parameter it competed with the Krakatoa explosion of 1883, which killed more than 36,000 people.
Previously, biologists confirmed that moths have “tails.” work as bait for bats.