The full Earth disk seen by Japans Himawari-8 satellite, the volcanic eruption is in the lower right. Credit: Simon Proud/ Uni Oxford, RALSpace NCEO/ Japan Meteorological Agency.
Usually, the height of a volcanic plume can be approximated by measuring the temperature level taped at the top by infrared-based satellites and comparing this to a referral vertical temperature profile. This is because in the troposphere (the very first and lowest layer of the Earths atmosphere), temperature level decreases with height. However if the eruption is so big that the plume penetrates into the next layer of the atmosphere (the stratosphere), this method ends up being unclear due to the fact that the temperature level begins to increase once again with height (due to the ozone layer taking in solar ultraviolet radiation).
A zoomed-in view of the Hunga Tonga– Hunga Haʻapai eruption on January 15, 2022, taped by NOAAs GOES-17 weather satellite. Credit: Simon Proud and Simeon Schmauß/ Uni Oxford, RALSpace NCEO/ NOAA
To overcome this issue, the researchers utilized a novel approach based upon a phenomenon called “the parallax result.” When viewed from several lines of sight, this is the obvious distinction in an objects position. You can see this for yourself by closing your right eye, and holding out one hand with the thumb raised upwards. If you then change eyes, so that your left is closed and your right is open, your thumb will appear to shift somewhat against the background. By determining this obvious modification in position and combining this with the recognized distance in between your eyes, you can calculate the distance to your thumb.
A zoomed-in view of the eruption, taken by Japans Himawari-8 satellite at 04:10 UTC on January 15, 2022, about 10 minutes after the eruption began. Credit: Simon Proud/ Uni Oxford, RALSpace NCEO/ Japan Meteorological Agency
The place of the Tonga volcano is covered by three geostationary weather condition satellites, so the researchers had the ability to apply the parallax effect to the aerial images these caught. Crucially, during the eruption itself, the satellites recorded images every 10 minutes, making it possible for the quick changes in the plumes trajectory to be documented.
The outcomes showed that the plume reached an elevation of 57 kilometers (35 miles) at its greatest degree. This is considerably greater than the previous record-holders: the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines (40 km/ 25 miles at its greatest point), and the 1982 eruption of El Chichón in Mexico (31 km/ 19 miles). It also makes the plume the first observational proof of a volcanic eruption injecting product through the stratosphere and directly into the mesosphere, which starts at about 50 km (31 miles) above the Earths surface.
A zoomed-in view of the eruption, taken by Japans Himawari-8 satellite at 04:50 UTC on January 15, 2022, about 50 minutes after the eruption started. Credit: Simon Proud/ Uni Oxford, RALSpace NCEO/ Japan Meteorological Agency
” Its the first time weve ever tape-recorded a volcanic plume reaching the mesosphere. Krakatau in the 1800s might have done too, however we didnt see that in enough information to verify,” said Dr. Simon Proud, a National Center for Earth Observation senior scientist at the University of Oxford and the Science and Technology Facilities Councils RAL Space facility.
” Its an extraordinary outcome as we have never ever seen a cloud of any type this high prior to,” Proud included. “Furthermore, the capability to approximate the height in the method we did (utilizing the parallax method) is only possible now that we have great satellite protection. It wouldnt have been possible a years approximately earlier.”
A zoomed-in view of the eruption, taken by Japans Himawari-8 satellite at 05:40 UTC on January 15, 2022, about 100 minutes after the eruption started. Credit: Simon Proud/ Uni Oxford, RALSpace NCEO/ Japan Meteorological Agency
The Oxford scientists now intend to build an automated system to calculate the heights of volcano plumes using the parallax approach.
Co-author Dr. Andrew Prata from the Sub-department of Atmospheric, Oceanic & & Planetary Physics added: “We d also like to use this method to other eruptions and establish a dataset of plume heights that can be used by volcanologists and atmospheric researchers to model the dispersion of volcanic ash in the environment. What will be the climate impacts of this eruption?
Recommendation: “The January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano reached the mesosphere” by Simon R. Proud, Andrew T. Prata and Simeon Schmauß, 3 November 2022, Science.DOI: 10.1126/ science.abo4076.
The University of Oxford, the research study also involved the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and National Centre for Earth Observation in Harwell, and Munich University of Applied Sciences.
The 3 satellites used to evaluate the eruption and catch were GOES-17 (USA), Himawari-8 (Japan) and GeoKompSat-2A (Korea). The open-access information was processed by the UKs Jasmin Supercomputer at the Science and Technology Facilities Councils Rutherford Appleton Lab.
An animation revealing the calculated eruption elevation utilizing data from 3 weather satellites. Credit: Simeon Schmauß/ Japan Meteorological Agency/ Korea Meteorological Administration/ National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
A new analysis led by Oxford University scientists has actually shown that the destructive Hunga Tonga– Hunga Haʻapai eruption in January 2022 developed the tallest volcanic plume ever tape-recorded. At 57 km high (35 miles), the ash cloud produced by the eruption is likewise the very first to have been observed in the mesosphere, a layer of the atmosphere more commonly connected with shooting stars.
Using images captured by satellites, scientists have verified that the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano produced the highest-ever recorded plume. The enormous eruption is also the first to have actually been directly observed to have actually broken through to the mesosphere layer of the environment. The results, by a group of scientists from the University of Oxfords Department of Physics and RAL Space, were published on November 3 in the journal Science.
On January 15, 2022, Hunga Tonga– Hunga Haʻapai, a submarine volcano in the Tongan island chain in the southern Pacific Ocean, strongly erupted. The explosion was one of the most powerful ever observed, sending out shock waves all over the world and activating disastrous tsunamis that left thousands homeless. An imposing column of ash and water was ejected into the atmosphere– however till now, researchers lacked a precise method to measure just how high this was.
Utilizing images recorded by satellites, researchers have actually confirmed that the January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano produced the highest-ever taped plume. The enormous eruption is also the very first to have been directly observed to have broken through to the mesosphere layer of the atmosphere. If the eruption is so large that the plume permeates into the next layer of the atmosphere (the stratosphere), this method ends up being unclear since the temperature begins to increase once again with height (due to the ozone layer absorbing solar ultraviolet radiation).
This is significantly greater than the previous record-holders: the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines (40 km/ 25 miles at its highest point), and the 1982 eruption of El Chichón in Mexico (31 km/ 19 miles). It likewise makes the plume the first observational proof of a volcanic eruption injecting material through the stratosphere and straight into the mesosphere, which starts at about 50 km (31 miles) above the Earths surface area.