Tonga eruption and tsunami shock the world

Tsunamis and shockwaves hit continents on the other side of the Pacific. The Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HT-HH) volcano was like a massive shotgun blast from the deep, generating the biggest atmospheric explosion recorded on Earth in more than 100 years.
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Funded by The Nippon Foundation, NIWA and SEA-KIT surveyed over 22,000km2 surrounding the volcano, including mapping 14,000km2 of previously unmapped seafloor as part of The Nippon Foundation GEBCO Seabed 2030 project
New Zealand's National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) has discovered that almost 10km3 of seafloor was displaced - the equivalent to 2.6 million Olympic-sized swimming pools and a third more than initial estimates - with two thirds coming from the summit and the rest from the surrounding flanks.
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Learn more about the survey and the The Nippon Foundation GEBCO Seabed 2030 project: niwa.co.nz/new...
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Filmed, edited and produced by Rebekah Parsons-King.
Additional footage: Brendan Hall (University of Auckland), Siosaia Langilangi, Lt Holo Lakai, Officer Esafe Vuki, Terushi Sho, TVNZ via Getty Images, NEWSHUB Archives, Newsflare Ltd, Taaniela Kula, Pununu Tukuafu, Sally Watson.
Animations: NOAA/NASA, Simon Proud, Eric Jordan, Phillip Brandl, Lana Young, Stuart Mackay, Cyprien Bosserelle.
Music: Artlist: Life Force by Tristan Barton, Deep Blue Sea by Yehezkel Raz, The Racer by Tristan Barton, Autumn Mist by Nobou, Hourglass by Yehezkel Raz, Naski by Infinity.
SFX: Envato Elements

[@FishingWithFonu]

I live 220km from the eruption. I heard a massive crack bang whilst eating lunch at the table at home. Then another and another. This went on for what seemed like well over an hour long. And the recent earthquake in Tonga sounded like freight train was coming before the house shook very violently then started to roll. Both experienced have really opened my eyes.

[@karlbrundage7472]

I have the Suspicious0bservers Disaster Prediction App on my phone and not a day goes by that the Tonga region doesn't experience at least a Magnitude 5 quake. As the site creator, Ben Davidson always ends his videos: "Eyes open, No fear... Be safe, everyone." Were I you, I'd be prepping by stockpiling food, fuel and medical supplies. If you live in a low-lying area that may be subject to a tsunami you might want to outfit your vehicle with survival equipment, including food, shelter, trade-goods, personal defense, etc. and be ready to evacuate to high ground on short notice. If you don't currently have a weather-alert radio get one and have it set up. The next mega-blast eruption might happen at 3AM local time. You are in my prayers. Be safe...........................

[@SamuraiCop]

Glad you’re ok!!

[@kcsunnyone]

there as a family living offgrid on an island right near the explosion location. They had just gone off island to take daughter to college the month before. Everything they had and all their animals - destroyed. Flattened. Lucky for them they'd taken daughter to college. It saved all of their lives.

[@puppiesarepower3682]

So they were living off grid, and they get thanked by having everything scoured.

[@AnnaMarianne]

@@puppiesarepower3682 Living with the nature always carries the possibility of danger and loss. There's no point to be bitter about it. Just start all over again and carry on, remembering your own mortality and how fragile life is.

[@jdog2345]

Devastating to all including animals, wildlife and marine life.

[@grfegrfe1069]

It's sad that you had no value for the lives of the animals who perished. You brushed it aside and seemed glad that luckily the humans were saved. You mean animals and other living creatures do not have the right to live?? They, in fact, deserve it more, because most of these calamities are caused due to humans' craze. They are the unfortunate victims not man.

[@philbell5705]

@@grfegrfe1069 seek help bud. It won't make you look weak to get the help you need, but will actually help you. I'm with you bro I promise, just get the proper help you need.

[@nightwaves3203]

The guy recorded on the beach with the kids listening to the banging eruption noises of the volcano knowing it's a hundred miles away having fun feeling safe with the kids was historical recording of the event. Then knowing the volcano is a hundred miles away and feeling and hearing the shockwave of the big one definite historical video :)

[@lifegettingintheway2710]

Something I found fascinating about the blast wave that went round the world is that it showed up on personal weather stations everywhere I looked, including my own. The timing of the spikes recorded were proportional to the distance from the blast and, for example, it hit in a arc from Alaska to South America at nearly the same time. I used the weather underground system to research this.

[@chillbro606]

Geology hub did a small piece on this fact. Pretty wild that something halfway around the world can be measured in your living room. All is vibration.

[@CoachDeeFree]

Thanks for your research 🙏🏾💜

[@suzannenapolitano5480]

Brilliant 🌸😉

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Wavelengths travel further than anyone can possibly imagine. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨

[@lifegettingintheway2710]

@@Novastar.SaberCombat Yes. I'm in north central Washington State near the Canadian border. My weather station reported the spike of the primary wave (short path) and it showed up again from the long path having gone around the world. This also showed up in many recording weather stations, unmistakably. I was able to calculate the time of the long wave pass and when I looked at the data there it was. Same thing happens with earthquakes of sufficient size. Exactly at the opposite site of the earth from the blast it converged. There were no weather stations near that point that I could find, but it was probably a big deal.

[@stevec00ps]

I remember being amazed capturing the pressure wave on my weather station twice as it passed over the UK! Unreal for something over ten thousand miles away.

[@pa5287]

never felt a thing

[@SabbaticusRex]

@@pa5287 By then it was by far too weak to feel as a human but the weather stations all registered tiny blips that could make a map using the time and location data around the world .

[@Kosmo999]

Wow its extremely hard to convey complex ideas and subjects like this with eloquence and pace. Very well made and gave me a deep appreciation for the efforts of NIWA. Well done everyone involved.

[@NIWA_Science]

Thanks Aaron.

[@vmcla]

Looks like many friends of NIWA (whatever that is because it is never defined) have posted comments praising this ridiculous effort. Did you hear the atmospheric music?

[@Leyrann]

@@vmcla NIWA, as defined in the description of the video (I know, reading is hard) is New Zealand's National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research. As for the comments praising their great effort, there are many people interested in the science surrounding volcanoes, and the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai eruption in particular is incredibly noteworthy, as it is the first eruption of it's kind to occur in modern times, and has in many ways surprised scientists from all over the world. Many past assumptions need to be reassessed because of this eruption, because it turns out that before this, no one actually had a good understanding of how a big eruption in shallow water behaves. For science, this eruption is likely to be at least as valuable as Mt St Helens' 1980 eruption or Pinatubo's 1991 eruption. Which, to be clear, likely makes it the single most scientifically valuable volcanic eruption of all time. I expect it will become a 'standard' to compare (some kinds of) volcanic eruptions to much like Mt St Helens or Krakatoa (1883) are.

[@vmcla]

@@Leyrann You know what’s really hard, Bro? Producing video that appeals to people outside of your own community. Finding the right way to tell your story, selecting the correct host and voice, and an attention to detail and how much time is being consumed by things that are off focus. THAT is hard and you obviously don’t have the skills to do that. Why not hire somebody to teach you or are to too “perfect”….. One more thing, boob, NOWHERE on the page does it define the letters that your think are known universally. I looked it up on Google even and found it hard to find. So, maybe reflect before you react. Remember the audience is full of professionals and you the team clearly are not. Lastly, producing for the public requires a willingness to accept one’s mistakes and to learn from feedback… not to attack it or to justify your errors… errors of an amateur and juvenile. Good luck, bro.

[@vmcla]

@@Leyrann Additionally, those of us who follow vulcanism do so without the dreary, self congratulatory video you slapped together.

[@carolynjaussi709]

Beautiful and necessary work. Thank you for your video. As a retired scientist, I have been anxiously awaiting this kind of serious reporting of the extensive impact of this eruption. The long term effects demand attention. I’m sure it has been very exciting and rewarding to be an active part in such a collaborative effort. There are many of us who value your work and will look forward to updates. Fascinating stuff. Way beyond the splashy headlines and then dead silence of the news sources.

[@Novastar.SaberCombat]

Exactly. It's important that humanity becomes familiar with Carl Sagan and Neil Degrasse Tyson rather than Carl's Jr., Neil Patrick Harris, and Tyson chicken nuggets. 🙄 I hope that my own work helps to ignite those braziers of awareness aflame, but I'm certainly not counting on it. 🐲✨🐲✨🐲✨

[@colettelane1736]

Yes we need serious volcano and geology scientist now more than ever, their job is very important.

[@kevincourtney7312]

@@colettelane1736 Carbon injection into the atmosphere like this will do some real damage to our ecosphere.

[@colettelane1736]

@@kevincourtney7312 your absolutely right, they need to stop playing and spraying our atmosphere with all those chemicals you can go online to see the list, it's a mixture of heavy metals and other chemicals mixed in with jet fuel, very bad.

[@standingbear998]

necessary work or payed to play

[@mikebrennan6165]

Utterly fascinating video many thanks. I am a geologist (and have been for nearly 30 years) and love the fact that we can still learn something new everyday.

[@JAOM]

Its really good to see that you guys are using some of the state of the art technology to map the area safely and ascertain the damage and future risk. Me being a hydrographic surveyor I always love to work in these challenging condition with USVs and ROVs. Hope to see some more analyzed data from the region in future videos.

[@JamesSavik]

Pyroclastic flows... underwater!? That's just cool and terrifying in equal measure.

[@erinmac4750]

So glad to find your channel! I was hoping someone was doing this level of measurement, sampling and research following this awe-inspiring eruption. I was stunned to hear that pyroclastic flows reached 80kms away, the energy pushing that material through the density of water! This eruption affected so much for us, I'm glad this research is looking into these events, as our recorded history of many of these is just a blip in the larger picture. I would like to see more involvement of the local people and agencies in Tonga and other areas, such as Solomon Islands, or PPNG. It would be empowering, bringing more education and tech to the region, as well as some economic gain. Thank you, again, for this informative production! 💜🌏🍀

[@kridadounsattapong1533]

It talent cellz

[@СергейЗлобин-ш2о]

Thank you for the interesting video. I have been involved in dredging in the northern part of the Tonga Trough near Samoa. It is a very amazing geological structure.

[@NIWA_Science]

Thank you, we are pleased you enjoyed it.

[@jmjm1920]

300 km from 'Eua Island east of Tongatapu the 2nd deepest Tonga trench 10.8km deep Maliana 10.9

[@gixellia8455]

Oh, the background music makes it difficult to hear people's voices ...

[@echodelta9]

Yes! Mixing is now done at just one volume, no assembly of loudest and everything stacked below that like we used to do. Buried vocals and all the rest of "mixing" is all the youngest gen has ever heard, "normal".

[@ctrl1961]

Thank you for this analysis. Nice to know that someone is working on these issues.

[@sunstrikersunchild233]

This video was excellent! I look forward to seeing more discoveries by NIWA, in youtube, regarding under water volcanoes in the ring of fire region, there are so many volcanoes between nz and tonga, and as a tongan, I grew up not really thinking of tonga being full of volcanic activity, I just didn't know the volcanoes were all under the sea.😅 and only thought of nz, and hawaii, being full of volcanoes. My great grandfather I suspect, may have been born at a time, when fonuafo'ou ( falcon island) erupted, and was named after the volcano, I think there may be some interesting stories to discover from the people of ha'apai regarding volcanic activity, stories, they carry from their ancestors. I know for sure, that this explosion would have definitely left a huge imprint on the minds and memories of the people, and this event will be told to the generations to come. 🙂

[@sarah-jane3627]

what an exciting opportunity to learn about these geological and ecological processes in real time. Really impressive group of organizations coming together!

[@NIWA_Science]

Thanks Sarah-Jane it was a tragic event but an amazing opportunity to gather information.

[@oneeye5837]

Thank you immensely for this video but importantly the tremendous amount of work that you all did to make these findings. This was a day I will never forget.

[@jessicamorse4859]

Would really love to hear what you have to say ! Turn down the wailing back ground music so you can be heard . Thanks Love to learn

[@AmazingPhilippines1]

Interesting research and documentation. Living here in the Philippines and am aware of the many volcanoes and risks nearby.

[@glory5918]

you might want to sub to Dutchsinse yt channel. Dutch reports on EQ's & Volcanoes worldwide with continous updates. He even 'forecasts' EQ's in order to inform his viewers to 'be prepared not scared'.

[@glory5918]

you'll be interested in Dutchsinse yt channel. - a university course on the net.

[@clarenceghammjr1326]

Taal was awesome, two times now and a flyover on a Cebu air going to Bohol

[@SmallWonda]

Very interesting - just wish we could turn the music down, gave me such a headache!

[@marksinclair701]

This was excellent. Question - was the nearly 10km3 displced volume all ejected? Does this bump/confine the VEI?

[@NIWA_Science]

Hi Mark, an answer to your question from our marine geologist/voyage leader, Kevin Mackay here: it may bump the VEI to 6. It exploded as if it was a VEI 6, so the volume may arguably confirm that. If it is a 6, then only just. Thanks for your question!

[@marksinclair701]

@@NIWA_Science Do you think it's time to improve the VEI scale? It should really be defined by some measure of released energy, like we do for earthquakes. Could be something like ejecta volume x average plume height...? Not much use historically I suppose, but I assume we can measure plume heights directly these days? Thanks for the reply.

[@Aethelwolf]

My weather station picked up the pressure wave here in Montana, USA.

[@ashmomofboys]

Seeing the images from space gave me chills. Great film.

[@MickeyFlipper]

This is AWESOME!! Thank you so much for this video. This eruption still fascinates me when it made the news earlier this year. And to learn more about it and what to do to prepare for another event like it… it’s very much needed. Thank you to everyone involved for this video. And for the education. Please make more

[@GauravSareenWingman]

Absolutely BRILLIANT... there's something really endearing about intelligent and smart scientists who yet are humble... Kudos to you ladies and gents!!

[@hera7884]

People are confused of the scale of the eruption. I think it’s because it happened in the ocean which doesn’t give people any items to scale it with other than the ocean itself, but the ocean is massive. So it makes the eruption look small. If people saw it next to a city or with cars driving nearby they’d get a far better understanding of the scale.

[@kathleensmith7022]

Thank you for your hard work on this project, my only issue is the background music, distracts from the interviews and science. It’s hard to follow the speaking over the music. Don’t know why producers always feel background music is necessary as it’s fighting with the dialog. But otherwise it’s great.

[@kateapple1]

Guys excellent excellent video… But next time can you kill the romcom music playing in the background? 🙏 thanks

[@PABadger13]

Fascinating. I've served several seasons as a park ranger at Mount St Helens in the US, and I'm fairly familiar with the effects of pyroclastic density currents, as well as the ecological impact and return of volcanic eruptions on land, but...I never considered what might happen underwater. I understood that underwater landslides could occur, certainly, but I hadn't really considered the possibility of a pyroclastic flow under the ocean. This will be an incredible scientific opportunity for generations to come.

[@olsim1730]

At the southernmost point of mainland NZ(Slope Point) I heard the sonic booms repeatedly reverberating for over two hours. At first I thought it was an attack and some sort of artillery was in use!

[@knitterpated907]

I live in Alaska and it was the weirdest feeling and sound when this happened. My cabin felt like it was shifting in slow motion and my cats were totally freaked. I had no idea what it was 🤷‍♀️

[@RWBHere]

Great to see some of the research which is being done after that eruption. Thanks. I couldn't hear much of the dialogue though; the foreground music was way too loud, and detracting from the quality of presentation.

[@devarskinnee8760]

What a great job you guys and gals have brought forth, more,more,more,it's that good, what a beautiful place on the planet. Thank you again.

[@bluesunquake]

I did my undergrad thesis in igneous petrology with Dr. Tim Grove many many years ago, then went into nuclear explosion monitoring research (seismology). This was absolutely fascinating!! Thank you!!

[@vickipurcell6738]

I'm loving this new era of discovery thanks to technology. Great video

[@coyotej4895]

Hereing that blast and seeing the wave in the distance was amazing yet humbling. About ten years after the first eruption of Mt St Hellens in 1980 me and a friend drove up to the observatory that late would be destroyed when the volcano had more activity. When we got there, we were amazed to see people walking down a path and into the crater. As we did not see much activity and the seismographs where still, so we both shrugged and went for it. I got to put my hand on the lava dome that years later would blow itself apart. To feel the heart beet of the planet was life changing. In a touch I could feel just the smallest portion of pure power that is our great planet. It was Awe inspiring and gave me a new appreciation for the power we all walk on every day. I prayed for the people of the Islands when the eruption happened in Tonga and was so sad for their losses. Bless and be well all.

[@knr1]

As someone born and raised in a country "safe" from this scale of mother Nature's fury, Brazil, ive never paid much attention to such events. This eruption, however, really sparked something in me. It happened on my birthday... and its sheer magnitude, mysteries and world scale impact makes it just... something else. Since then, ive become fascinated with such events, and when watching such high-quality videos as this one, the urge to drop everything else and start studying in a field that someday will allow me to help in such researches is reeeally strong!!! thanks for your work, everyone! 🥰

[@abainimarama]

Thank You NIWA ❤️🙏🌟💯

[@WilliamPatinoPhotography]

Great work guys.

[@vas4739]

The Earth - our fascinatingly beautiful home is certainly a gift to be carefully studied & as stewards to treat it with the utmost respect. Our home is delicate and precious!

[@riverAmazonNZ]

Extremely interesting. Great to see follow up after it fades out of the news.

[@WildBillCox13]

Just a small suggestion. Adding a lightning noise is not science. Creating drama is not science's job. Emotionless reporting of facts is science's job. A discharge that far away would take ten seconds at least to reach the camera. Someone added it for effect. The effect was: "fake!" Don't help the bashers. Be the pinnacle of honesty.

[@anasimpson3181]

Impressive and very important research! Thank you!

[@ElanaLottner]

you guys have the coolest jobs ever! I'm a budding marine scientist, just started my masters in marine geology. I can appreciate how much work, preparatory and analysis went into this. I'm not envious of that part :P But still so cool.

[@greenman6141]

Really fascinating. How I wish KZbin was composed of content like this. I watched this and spent the next 48 hours reading about the geology of the Tonga Ridge, the back arc basins to the west of it, and so forth. It also left me feeling such regret for all our sea dwelling and flying fellow creatures who must have been killed.

[@badgercdlyons]

The largest explosion ever recorded with modern equipment on Earth. So large it ejected water FROM THE PLANET.

[@michaelroxbury7084]

Felt the blast wave in Alaska shook the house

[@HankHillspimphand]

Need more of these types of documentation on video, than a paper published that while seen and important doesn’t help convey why these expeditions are important.

[@sg-mx4ii]

ever notice how the weather patterns changed this year after the explosion?

[@breeze22ish]

You all do amazing work well done all of you 👏 💖👏

[@yankeesny28]

Finally video showing tonga explosion evidence from underwater.

[@Drobium77]

The weather around the world has been haywire since this explosion, and the sunsets here in the UK (and sunrises) have been stunning day after day. We even got to 41'c in England for the first time ever, as far as I know, the flooding in Australia has been biblical too. What other effects on the weather can we expect from this eruption and how long do you think they may last?

[@Drobium77]

@@debz7246 How is that relevant to what I asked? 🤔

[@loveandlight1953]

​@@Drobium77 you didn't ask, but please be aware that mankind is using bunker fueled ships, chemtrails, harp facilities, etc to create weather modification. Mother nature is not the only driver of weather for decades now.

[@Drobium77]

@@loveandlight1953 I understand that and do not deny it, but I was concentrating on the short term affects of this enormous event and what it will do to the climate 'now'. I've done my bits for saving the world, I've not had kids (the main thing which will help) I don't own a car, I grow food, and look after the disabled for a living, so I think my conscience is pretty clear atm. I'm also a very amateur meteorologist and follow weather and climate closely 🙂 My apologies if I was a little terse with you, I'd had a hard day, but there is no excuse for my rudeness 🙂

[@loveandlight1953]

@@Drobium77 no problems 😊

[@ssansu]

@@loveandlight1953 lol

[@allgood6760]

Don't underestimate the power of nature!🌋🌍

[@acanadianfarmgirl2667]

And nature always has the word!

[@redbarchetta8782]

That's how the Orcs were able to reignite Orodruin into Mount Doom not just a few weeks before on The Rings of Power of all things. I remember some folks complaining how unrealistic it was to have water pour into a volcano to get a large scale eruption. So much for unrealistic Middle Earth.

[@renataheiberg7534]

Music really makes it unbearable. Why on earth, all documentaries try to become Shakespearean drama?

[@cinemaipswich4636]

The weather in Australia since the explosion has changed. For 3 years it has been wet. Several million tonnes of water and ash was blasted into the stratosphere all the way to the ionosphere some, some 100 Kilometers up. The volcano's cloud traveled over Indonesia and circled the Indian Ocean's vortex to arrive back in Australia. It is now November 2022 and it is still raining.

[@LizSolactivatedLove]

There has been multiple times that the schuman resonance went black and/or went off the scale this past year, which has never happened since we started recording. Also a couple Massive Coronal solar flashes occurred in the past 18 months. These ramifications directly impact Earth and natural disasters are intensified. Mother Nature is so powerful 🌏 🌱 ✨

[@ziasun1094]

I am curious and wondering what are the temperatures of the water. Does the temperature fluctuate closer to the valcano?

[@beornthebear.8220]

Tsunamis or horrifying. I used to think they were a wall of water, but many times they are just water that keeps coming and coming, carrying cars, parts of houses and setting ships on roadways.

[@stephenhall8777]

Excellent video!

[@uhadme]

Non "just geologist" they are shook geologists. The experts got shocked, not us

[@paulking54]

Great works and investigations. More planning and emergency strategies are needed to help Tonga. NZ , AUS and Japan when another quake or volcano like just happened in Java.

[@-LightningRod-]

i knew it,...my first sight of the satellite ,...just wtf, am i correct to say"one of the biggest explosions Mankind has ever seen",...would that be correct? ahhh into the mesosphere, "it is the highest ever explosion column ever recorded in human history' AND A "volcananis meteotsunami", and then some.

[@GDGardner]

Fascinating stuff. I have one question that no one seem to be able to answer, Why did the pressure wave go around the earth & not just laterally out into space? And surely it must have gone as high as it went laterally?

[@pohkeee]

I wonder what percentage of the world population is even aware this happened…also…has anyone speculated on is ripple effect on global climate anomalies?

[@charliesilverman1132]

I'm worried about what this means for global food production now we have 8 Billion mouths to feed. The year without a summer springs to mind (Tambora eruption 1815)

[@handyman1001]

Very few here in Canada. I have been bringing it up in conversation regularly since last January and typically get blank looks from many. An interesting point, I have seen zero mention of the eruption on our "Environment Canada" weather and "climate cahange" service since the event...

[@stephenwalker5253]

How much C02 did it produce?

[@MaryMacElveen]

The science and equipment used to study and understand this volcano is outstanding. In watching this video, you feel like that you are there. Science, you've got to love it! 🙂🌋

[@DBENTLEY369ig]

Distance of 2 points of volcanic rim left above water. Insight looks to be 1/2 mile

[@brianazmy3156]

Eternally fascinating to me as an adult. I wish I had a better science teacher earlier in school.

[@plehmann72]

What was the safe zone from that Jan22 eruption? 50km would have been too close?

[@sitka49]

"If I claim to be a Wiseman , it truly means that I don't know". This statement certainly conveys to the sciences, Its seem the more we try to understand, the less we do. We have only scratched the surface.

[@tommybokelman5565]

Wouldn’t the tsunami get bigger going the same speed as the atmospheric pressure because it would lose gravity at that point or no?

[@123TauruZ321]

It's just such a shame that we don't have clean good video of the main eruption from the start. That's one hell of an explosion i would like to see. It must have been something for the ages. I wonder if it exist.

[@vondent8904]

Thank you so much, We love you.

[@agnesagni]

Can you please share what the background music is, who is singing? It is very moving.

[@fumble_brewski5410]

That’s a hunka, hunka burning volcano. 🎸

[@thhseeking]

I was wondering how they sounded the caldera without venturing into it. The Japanese know all too well what happens when you sail a ship over a volcano. On the 24th of September 1952 Kaiyo Maru #5 inadvertently sailed over the submerged vent of Myojin-sho Just as it erupted. A following ship that was also sent to investigate the volcano found pumice-embedded wreckage a few days later.

[@knightsaberami01]

05:00 So Hunga Tonga essentially set off a pyroclastic surge underwater? I haven't seen the 50 mile pyroclastic flow yt vid, yet, that might have the answer. Dude...this is nightmare fuel.

[@SovereignTroll]

At 11:32 does anyone know the water column height, distance from camera and other data on this tsunami genesis?

[@lynet1998]

I read that the mesosphere is the driest, coldest layer of the atmosphere and that a gigantic amount of water /water vapour was thrust into this level. Does anyone know the affects that this will have? I think they are making observations about this because it is unknown???? One thing is ..... apparently it could make the sky more pink at times in the Southern Hemisphere. What about all that water? It would be great to get more info.

[@davidj470]

Wow, the water dissipation, covering the sound for a split second,

[@artysanmobile]

That famous satellite clip is at least 100x real time speed. It does help to see the shock wave propagate.

[@terryfraatz424]

This was wonderful, thank you for sharing!

[@princesssolace4337]

How far is it from Bikini Bottom? Bob a friend , lives at Bikini Bottom. He was on holiday in Bali when it happened

[@carlos2003177]

What type of eruption and amount of tephra would this volcano have erupted had it not been under water?

[@NIWA_Science]

Hi Carlos, thanks for your question - an answer here from our voyage leader, Kevin Mackay: Phreatomagmatic eruption. Likely to be a lot smaller - probably about 1-2 km3 of tephra.

[@voidjavelin23]

Any volcano that has creater lake in it, it will always be phreatic or phreatomagmatic

[@shimmyhinnah]

Why can’t one watch a documentary like this without the annoying music in the background?

[@racheljennings8548]

Amazing well done NIWA

[@brhettdavis7061]

being a biogeochemist with the name "Dr. Sarah Seabrook" is some main character vibes

[@rasputin7633]

I hate to tell this guy, but that "quote" is from the Bible. "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children." Hosea 4:6

[@puppiesarepower3682]

Lake Toba takes out New Zealand... now that would be something.

[@mattmichael6792]

Fascinating

[@h.huffen-puff4105]

Very interesting. Thank you.

[@martynridley3671]

That was really interesting, with many beautiful images.

[@Iambrendanjames]

I've been sucked into every new informaion release about this eruption. I remember seeing the clouds in Seattle, Wa wax and wane on my way to work that morning. The injection of H2O into the upper atmosphere is something I think no one in climate sciences took into account before this eruption...

[@petertousignant6566]

I would be curious if there has been any study on how or if sea life activity changes prior to an eruption. One would figure that how fish are so sensitive to changes that there behavior would change some what.

[@jonathanlebeuf8551]

Can we say that we were lucky that this eruption happened on a inhabited island FAR from civilization?

[@monsoonBloom]

WOW. If I had money, I would donate to them. Wow.

[@priscillaross-fox9407]

I don't know if that was the real sound of the volcano @0:39 or not but it didn't sound like anything I thought a volcano would sound like.

[@Alloneword-cp2xw]

That was the sonic boom created by the blast, not the actual blast sound.

[@stevemcatee5700]

I highly recommend that the government and people of Tonga and surrounding areas request and immediate LNG ship and all the necessary elements to create an LNG power source for the people of Tonga to survive and rebuild the infrastructure necessary to become the central study facility for organizations like NIWA New Zealand and other organizations from Japan and other countries in that area. The Hunga-Tonga Hunga=Ha'apai ((HT-HH) volcano generating the largest atmospheric explosion recorded in over 100 years. It is incumbent upon the United States to provide the funding and some of the expertise needed to restore the island and research facilities. There are LNG grid structures in existence which can set up the facilities necessary to supply the fuels and power grid necessary to not only restore Tonga and create similar grids and research facilities in that area of the Pacific.

[@GoBlue79]

Riveting. Great work all.