How underwater ‘booms’ could provide earlier warning of deadly volcanic tsunamis
Researchers have discovered that the massive 2022 tsunami in Tonga was caused by the collapse of a volcanic caldera rather than just the initial eruption. This finding suggests that underwater acoustic signals could serve as early warning indicators for future volcanic tsunamis.
Why it matters
Improving detection methods for volcanic tsunamis is critical for saving lives in regions near active submarine volcanoes.
Auckland, The massive January 2022 eruption of Hunga volcano in the Kingdom of Tonga took the world by surprise.It blasted a plume more than 50km into the atmosphere, sent pressure waves around the globe and generated a series of tsunamis, devastating parts of Tonga and killing at least three people.But one of the most important things we've learned since this historic event is that these tsunamis did not all stem from the same cause.The first were generated by enormous explosions during the opening stages of the eruption. On nearby Tongatapu, waves with run-ups of one to four metres began arriving within minutes.Then, more than an hour later, something much more destructive happened.
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