The Tonga eruption sent shock waves all over the world: – Spectacular – VG

The pressure waves from the volcanic eruption from Tonga reached all the way to Norway, and could be heard almost 10,000 kilometers away.

– That it actually sent shock waves around the world, says that this is spectacular, says climate researcher at the Norwegian Research Center (NORCE), Odd Helge Otterå.

On Saturday, the island state became Tonga hit by a tsunami wave of 1.2 meters. The wave came as a result of an eruption in the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai.

The eruption lasted for eight minutes, and according to Severe Weather, have sent shock waves all over the world. These were intercepted by stations in Slovenia, and the sounds from the eruption reached all the way to Alaska located over 9,600 kilometers from Tonga.

The pressure waves were also registered in Norway. Director at the Nansen Center Tore Furevik, published a post on Twitter on Sunday that shows how they hit Bergen around half past seven in the evening – over 13 hours after the eruption on Tonga:

May affect climate

The eruption originates in what is called the “ring of fire”, a belt that stretches around the Pacific Ocean and covers the coast from the USA, Indonesia and down around Australia and Tonga.

In this area, plate activity can form faults, which create earthquakes and volcanic activity as they move. About 75 percent of the world’s volcanoes are located here, and 90 percent of earthquakes occur in this fire.

Photos and videos of the eruption, show how a cloud of ash and sulfur shoots all the way up to the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere that lies approx. 10–50 kilometers above the earth’s surface.

– Such outbreaks occur from time to time, but the size of this is relatively rare, says Otterå.

He says that the really big eruptions in the “ring of fire”, can affect weather and climate for a long time to come, preferably for two to five years.

– For an eruption to have a major climatic effect, it is not about how explosive and spectacular it is, but how many sulfur gases are emitted into the stratosphere. It forms small particles that reflect the solar radiation back, and thus provides a cooling effect.

An example of this is the eruption of the Tambora volcano in Indonesia in 1815, which is considered the most powerful eruption in modern times. The following year was called “the year without summer”, due to the cooling effect that hit the entire globe.

According to Otterå, it is too early to say whether the eruption in Tonga will affect the climate.

– In order to see the effect of the sulfur discharge, the eruption must last over a certain period of time. This looks like a short-lived, explosive eruption, he explains.

Significant damage

The eruption was the largest from the volcano Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai to date, and led to tsunami warnings being sent to Fiji, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Chile, American Samoa, Australia, Japan and the United States.

As a result of the eruption, all communication with Tonga was interrupted until Sunday morning. According to New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, the volcanic eruption is said to have wreaked havoc in Tonga.

– The tsunami had a significant impact on the beach area on the north side of Nuku’alofa, where boats and large rocks were washed ashore and buildings have been damaged.

At the northern tip of New Zealand, several boats were destroyed, and tsunami waves in Hawaii led to minor floods. According to officials in Suva Fiji, the eruption must have been so strong that it sounded like heavy thunderstorms.

There have been no reports of injuries or deaths.

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