Scientists are racing to study the volcano in Tonga that erupted just before sundown on January 15, 2022.
"Everything so far about this eruption is really strange," said Janine Krippner, a scientist with Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program. "The sound of the explosion, the tsunami (海啸)waves that followed the eruption and the huge energy of this explosion, which equals to five to six million tons of TNT, are unlike any seen in recent decades. "
The sound of the latest eruption could be heard on distant shores around the world. According to Geoff Kilgour, a scientist from New Zealand, water likely has had a hand in it. "Perhaps the recent explosion had just the right mix of magma(岩浆) and water. Either more or less would have led to a quieter explosion," he said.
The tsunami waves that followed the eruption were even stranger. Tsunami waves usually start from the center of the eruption. Yet this time, waves appeared in other places, such as the Caribbean, far earlier than would be expected of a classic tsunami. In addition, as tsunami waves travel further, they usually become weaker. While the waves that hit the islands in Tonga were damaging, they weren't high enough to account for the surprisingly larger waves across the ocean.
Although many of the volcanoes in deep oceans usually aren't deadly, the recent event reminds us that how dangerous they can be and that how little we know about them.
However, monitoring underwater volcanoes is a complex task. GPS-which is frequently used to track changes in the surface as magma moves underground doesn't work on the seafloor. And obtaining real-time data from seismometers(地震检波器) on the ocean floor is expensive and technologically difficult.
The situation in Tonga has also shown how well the Tonga Geological Services (TGS) has dealt with the latest eruption. "They don't have a huge amount of money. They don't have a huge amount of staff," Janine Krippner added. "But they're asked to do a huge amount and they have done a really nice job to reduce the possible damages."