TY  - JOUR
AU  - Wright, Corwin J.
AU  - Hindley, Neil P.
AU  - Alexander, M. Joan
AU  - Barlow, Mathew
AU  - Hoffmann, Lars
AU  - Mitchell, Cathryn N.
AU  - Prata, Fred
AU  - Bouillon, Marie
AU  - Carstens, Justin
AU  - Clerbaux, Cathy
AU  - Osprey, Scott M.
AU  - Powell, Nick
AU  - Randall, Cora E.
AU  - Yue, Jia
TI  - Surface-to-space atmospheric waves from Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption
JO  - Nature 
VL  - 609
SN  - 0028-0836
CY  - London [u.a.]
PB  - Nature Publ. Group
M1  - FZJ-2022-02609
SP  - 741–746
PY  - 2022
AB  - The January 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai eruption was one of the most explosive volcanic events of the modern era, producing a vertical plume which peaked > 50 km above the Earth. The initial explosion and subsequent plume triggered atmospheric waves which propagated around the world multiple times. A global-scale wave response of this magnitude from a single source has not previously been observed. Here we show the details of this response, using a comprehensive set of satellite and ground-based observations to quantify it from surface to ionosphere. A broad spectrum of waves was triggered by the initial explosion, including Lamb waves propagating at phase speeds of 318.2±6 m/s at surface level and between 308±5 to 319±4 m/s in the stratosphere, and gravity waves propagating at 238±3 to 269±3 m/s in the stratosphere. Gravity waves at sub-ionospheric heights have not previously been observed propagating at this speed or over the whole Earth from a single source. Latent heat release from the plume remained the most significant individual gravity wave source worldwide for > 12 hours, producing circular wavefronts visible across the Pacific basin in satellite observations. A single source dominating such a large region is also unique in the observational record. The Hunga Tonga eruption represents a key natural experiment in how the atmosphere responds to a sudden point-source-driven state change, which will be of use for improving weather and climate models.
LB  - PUB:(DE-HGF)16
C6  - 35772670
UR  - <Go to ISI:>//WOS:000854445900001
DO  - DOI:10.1038/s41586-022-05012-5
UR  - https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/908443
ER  -