[Rockhounds] Tonga volcano blast was unusual, could even warm the Earth

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

When an undersea volcano erupted in Tonga in January, its watery blast was
huge and unusual — and scientists are still trying to understand its
impacts.

The volcano, known as Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, shot millions of tons of
water vapor high up into the atmosphere, according to a study published
Thursday <http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abq2299> in the journal Science.

The researchers estimate the eruption raised the amount of water in the
stratosphere — the second layer of the atmosphere, above the range where
humans live and breathe — by around 5%.

Now, scientists are trying to figure out how all that water could affect
the atmosphere, and whether it might warm Earth’s surface over the next few
years.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime event,” said lead author Holger Voemel, a
scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado.

Big eruptions usually cool the planet. Most volcanoes send up large amounts
of sulfur, which blocks the sun’s rays, explained Matthew Toohey, a climate
researcher at the University of Saskatchewan who was not involved in the
study.

The Tongan blast was much soggier: The eruption started under the ocean, so
it shot up a plume with much more water than usual. And since water vapor
acts as a heat-trapping greenhouse gas, the eruption will probably raise
temperatures instead of lowering them, Toohey said.

https://apnews.com/article/science-tonga-volcanoes-climate-and-environment-931184378acba4b5f33d6f6b14dc245c