[Rockhounds] Eruption of Tonga underwater volcano found to disrupt satellite signals halfway around the world

[Kreigh Tomaszewski]

An international team has used satellite- and ground-based ionospheric
observations to demonstrate that an air pressure wave triggered by volcanic
eruptions could produce an equatorial plasma bubble (EPB) in the
ionosphere, severely disrupting satellite-based communications. Their
findings were published in the journal *Scientific Reports*.

The ionosphere is the region of the Earth's upper atmosphere
<https://phys.org/tags/upper+atmosphere/> where molecules and atoms are
ionized by solar radiation, creating positively charged ions. The area with
the highest concentration of ionized particles is called the F-region, an
area 150 to 800 kilometers above the Earth's surface. The F-region plays a
crucial role in long-distance radio communication, reflecting and
refracting radio waves <https://phys.org/tags/radio+waves/> used by
satellite and GPS tracking systems back to the Earth's surface.

These important transmissions can be disrupted by irregularities in the
F-region. During the day, the ionosphere is ionized by the Sun's
ultraviolet radiation, creating a density gradient of electrons with the
highest density near the equator. However, disruptions to this, such as the
movement of plasma, electric fields, and neutral winds, can cause the
formation of a localized irregularity of enhanced plasma density. This
region can grow and evolve, creating a bubble-like structure called an EPB.
EPB can delay radio waves and degrade the performance of GPS.
https://phys.org/news/2023-05-eruption-tonga-underwater-volcano-disrupt.html