Lightning rings and gravity waves: Insights into the giant eruption plumefrom Tonga’s Hunga Volcano on 15 January 2022
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Abstract
On 15 January 2022, Hunga Volcano in Tonga produced the most violent eruption in the modern satellite era, sending a water-rich plume at least 58 km high. Using a combination of satellite- and ground-based sensors, we investigate the astonishing rate of volcanic lightning (>2,600 flashes min−1) and what it reveals about the dynamics of the submarine eruption. In map view, lightning locations form radially expanding rings. We show that the initial lightning ring is co-located with an internal gravity wave traveling >80 m s−1 in the stratospheric umbrella cloud. Buoyant oscillations of the plume's overshooting top generated the gravity waves, which enhanced turbulent particle interactions and triggered high-current electrical discharges at unusually high altitudes. Our analysis attributes the intense lightning activity to an exceptional mass eruption rate (>5 × 109 kg s−1), rapidly expanding umbrella cloud, and entrainment of abundant seawater vaporized from magma-water interaction at the submarine vent.
Study Area
| Publication type | Article |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Journal Article |
| Title | Lightning rings and gravity waves: Insights into the giant eruption plumefrom Tonga’s Hunga Volcano on 15 January 2022 |
| Series title | Geophysical Research Letters |
| DOI | 10.1029/2022GL102341 |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Publication Date | June 20, 2023 |
| Year Published | 2023 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | American Geophysical Union |
| Contributing office(s) | Volcano Science Center |
| Description | e2022GL102341, 10 p. |
| Country | Tonga |
| Other Geospatial | Hunga Volcano |