Lightning rings and gravity waves: Insights into the giant eruption plumefrom Tonga’s Hunga Volcano on 15 January 2022

Alexa R. Van Eaton; Jeff Lapierre; Sonja A. Behnke; Chris Vagasky; Christopher J. Schultz; Michael J. Pavolonis; Kristopher Bedka; Konstantin Khlopenkov

doi:10.1029/2022gl102341

USGS · 70245422

Lightning rings and gravity waves: Insights into the giant eruption plumefrom Tonga’s Hunga Volcano on 15 January 2022

Alexa R. Van Eaton·Jeff Lapierre·Sonja A. Behnke·Chris Vagasky·Christopher J. Schultz·Michael J. Pavolonis·Kristopher Bedka·Konstantin Khlopenkov

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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 × 10 9 kg s −1 ), rapidly expanding umbrella cloud, and entrainment of abundant seawater vaporized from magma-water interaction at the submarine vent.

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Geophysical Research Letters Article

Source-reported bounding extent: -21.898036687649522° to -19.19107806045814° latitude; -176.2503367072947° to -173.20032150771877° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

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Alexa R. Van Eaton, Jeff Lapierre, Sonja A. Behnke, Chris Vagasky, Christopher J. Schultz, Michael J. Pavolonis, Kristopher Bedka, Konstantin Khlopenkov. 2023-06-20. Lightning rings and gravity waves: Insights into the giant eruption plumefrom Tonga’s Hunga Volcano on 15 January 2022. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022gl102341

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