Top

Published in:

2025 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

2. Is the Tonga Eruption (2022) a New Climate Change Threat for the Pacific Basin?

Authors : Mauricio Bretón González, Jesús M. Ibáñez Godoy

Published in: Transition to a Safe Anthropocene in the Asia-Pacific

Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config

AI-assisted search

Off

Abstract

The eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in the Pacific Ocean on January 15th 2022 generated one of the most important volcanic events in the modern era. As a consequence of the eruption, a tsunami was produced, affecting the coasts of several countries of the Pacific Basin. It is estimated that the amount of water vapor ejected into the atmosphere as a result of the eruption could alter the Earth’s climate to the point of heating it in the coming years, or cause the reverse effect—as occurred during the eruption of the Tambora volcano in 1815. We believe that, along with the study of the anthropogenic effects of climate change, we must raise awareness about the need to develop initiatives to analyze natural origin dangers representing a serious threat to the societies and economies of the countries of the Pacific Basin in the coming decades.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

previous chapter Anthropocene, Climate Change, and Sustainability

next chapter Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Low Carbon Future: Policies for Sustainable, Inclusive and Just Transition

Adam, D. (2022, January 18). Tonga volcano eruption created puzzling ripples in Earth’s atmosphere. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00127-1

Adushkin, V. V., Rybnov, Y. S., & Spivak, A. A. (2022). Geophysical effects of the eruption of Hunga–Tonga–Hunga–Ha’apai volcano on January 15, 2022. Doklady Earth Sciences, 504(2), 362–367)

Aminy, I. U. A., Bijaksana, S., & Dahrin, D. (2022). Did the Samalas volcano eruption in 1257 initiate climate change that resulted in LIA (Little Ice Ages)? Statistical study of global climate proxy data since 1000. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-1422056/v1

Amores, A., Monserrat, S., & Gomis, D. (2022). Numerical simulation of atmospheric Lamb waves generated by the 2022 Hunga‐Tonga volcanic eruption. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(6), e2022GL098240

Astafyeva, E., Maletckii, B., & Rolland, L. (2022). The 15 January 2022 Hunga Tonga eruption history as inferred from ionospheric observations. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(10), e2022GL098827

Bates, S., & Carlowicz, M. (2022, January 15). Tonga volcano plume reached the mesosphere. NASA Earth Observatory. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/149474/tonga-volcano-plume-reached-the-mesosphere

Baxter, P. J. (1990). Medical effects of volcanic eruptions. Bulletin of Volcanology, 52(7), 532–544. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00301534

Bolić, T., & Sivčev, Z. (2014). Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Experience of European Air Traffic Management. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2214(1), 136–143. https://doi.org/10.3141/2214-17

Brázdil, R., Řezníčková, L., Valášek, H., Dolák, L. & Kotyza, O. (2016). Climatic effects and impacts of the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora in the Czech Lands. Climate of the Past 12, 1361–1374. https://cp.copernicus.org/articles/12/1361/2016/

Brenna, M., Cronin S.J., Smith, I. E. M., Pontesilli, A., Tost, M., Barker, S., Tonga’onevai, S., Kula, T., & Vaiomounga, R. (2022). Post-caldera volcanism reveals shallow priming of an intra-ocean arc andesitic caldera: Hunga volcano, Tonga, SW Pacific. Lithos 412, 106614. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lithos.2022.106614

Bretón González, M. (2018). Las erupciones volcánicas y sus consecuencias en la Cuenca del Pacífico. [Volcanic eruptions and their consequences in the Pacific Rim]. PORTES, Revista mexicana de estudios sobre la Cuenca del Pacífico. Tercera época, 12(23), 165–177. https://www.divulgameteo.es/archivos/articulos/meteoroteca/Erupciones-Pac%C3%ADfico.pdf

Bryson, R. A., Goodman, B. M. (1980). Volcanic activity and climatic changes. Science, 207(4435), 1041–1044

Campbell, B. M. (2017). Global climates, the 1257 mega-eruption of Samalas volcano, Indonesia, and the English food crisis of 1258. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 27, 87–121

Carr, J. L., Horváth, Á., Wu, D. L., & Friberg, M. D. (2022). Stereo plume height and motion retrievals for the record‐setting Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha’apai eruption of 15 January 2022. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(9), e2022GL098131

Casadevall, T. J. (Ed.). (1994a). Volcanic ash and aviation safety: proceedings of the first international symposium on volcanic ash and aviation safety (No. 2047). US Government Printing Office

Casadevall, T. J. (1994b). The 1989–1990 eruption of Redoubt Volcano, Alaska: impacts on aircraft operations. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 62(1–4), 301–316. https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(94)90038-8

Chaochao, G., Yujuan, G., Qian, Z., & Chunming, S., (2017). Climatic aftermath of the 1815 Tambora eruption in China. Journal of Meteorological Research, 31(1), 28–38. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-017-6091-9

Chen, C. H., Zhang, X., & Liu, J. Y. (2022). Individual wave propagations in ionosphere and troposphere triggered by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai underwater volcano eruption on 15 January 2022. Remote Sensing, 14(9), 2179

Cline, E.H. (2021). 1177 B.C. The year civilization collapsed. Princeton University Press

Cole‐Dai, J. (2010). Volcanoes and climate. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 1(6), 824–839

Colombier, M. . Scheu, B., Wadsworth, F. B., Cronin, S., Vasseur, J., Dobson, K. J., Hess, K.-U., Tost, M., Yilmaz, T. I., Cimarelli, C., Brenna, M., Ruthensteiner, B. B. , & Dingwell D. B. (2018). Vesiculation and quenching during surtseyan eruptions at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano, Tonga. J. Geophys. Res. Solid Earth, 123, 3762–3779. https://doi.org/10.1029/2017JB015357

Cronin, S. J., Brenna, M., Smith, I., Barker, S., Tost, M., Ford, M., Tonga’onevai, S., Kula, T. & Vaiomounga, R. (2017). New volcanic island unveils explosive past. Eos,98(9). https://doi.org/10.1029/2017EO076589

De Boer, J. Z., & Sanders, D. T. (2012). Volcanoes in human history: The far-reaching effects of major eruptions. Princeton University Press

Díaz, J. S., & Rigby, S. E. (2022). Energetic output of the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption from pressure measurements. Shock Waves, 32(6), 553–561. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00193-022-01092-4

ESA (2022, January 20). https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Images/2022/01/Sulphur_dioxide_from_Tonga_eruption_spreads_over_Australia

INDECI. (2022, January 16). Inician acciones de respuesta luego de oleajes en el litoral [Response actions initiated after waves on the coast]. https://www.gob.pe/institucion/indeci/noticias/576687-inician-acciones-de-respuesta-luego-de-oleajes-en-el-litoral

Fagan, B. (2008). La Pequeña Edad de Hielo. Cómo el clima afectó a la historia de Europa. 1300–1850 [The Little Ice Age. How climate affected the history of Europe. 1300–1850]. Gedisa

Francis, P., & Self, S. (1983). The Eruption of Krakatau. Scientific American, 249(5), 172–187. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24969038

Garvin, J. B., Slayback, D. A., Ferrini, V., Frawley, J., Giguere, C., Asrar, G. R., & K. Andersen, K. (2018). Monitoring and modeling the rapid evolution of Earth’s newest volcanic island: Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha’apai (Tonga) using high spatial resolution satellite observations. Geophysical Research Letters 45, 3445–3452. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL076621

Gozalo de Andrés, C. (1991). El año sin verano. La Meteorología en el mundo iberoamericano [Volcanoes and climate. 1816, a year without summer in the Northern Hemisphere]. Meteored, tiempo.com. http://www.tiempo.com/ram/354/volcanes-y-clima-1816-un-ano-sin-verano-en-el-hemisferio-norte/

Grindle, T. J. (2003). Engine damage to a NASA DC-8-72 airplane from a high-altitude encounter with a diffuse volcanic ash cloud. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20030068344/downloads/20030068344.pdf

Guillet, S., Corona, C., & Oppenheimer, C. (2017). Climate response to the Samalas volcanic eruption in 1257 revealed by proxy records. Nature Geoscience, 10(2), 123–128

Gusman, A. R., Roger, J., Noble, C., Wang, X., Power, W., & Burbidge, D. (2022). The 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano air-wave generated tsunami. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 179(10), 3511–3525

Global Volcanism Program. (2022). Report on Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha’apai (Tonga). Bennis, K. L. and Venzke, E. (Eds.), Bulletin of the Global Volcanism Network, 47(3). Smithsonian Institution. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.GVP.BGVN202203-243040

Heidarzadeh, M., Ishibe, T., Sandanbata, O., Muhari, A., & Wijanarto, A. B. (2020). Numerical modeling of the subaerial landslide source of the 22 December 2018 Anak Krakatoa volcanic tsunami, Indonesia. Ocean Engineering, 195, 106733

Heidorn, K. C. (2004). Eighteen Hundred and Froze to Death, The Year There Was No Summer. Weather People and History. http://www.heidorn.info/keith/weather/history/1816.htm

Jenkins, S., Smith, C., Allen, M., & Grainger, R. (2023). Tonga eruption increases chance of temporary surface temperature anomaly above 1.5° C. Nature Climate Change, 13, 127–129 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01568-2

Kulichkov, S. N., Chunchuzov, I. P., & Tikhonov, A. V. (2022). Acoustic-gravity Lamb waves from the eruption of the Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Hapai Volcano, its energy release and impact on aerosol concentrations and tsunami. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 179(5), 1533–1548

Lavigne, F., Morin, J., Trautmann, M. & Gomez, C. (2021) Bridging legends and science: Field evidence of a large tsunami that affected the kingdom of Tonga in the 15th century. Frontiers in Earth Science, 9, 748755. https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.748755

Li, C. (2022). Global shockwaves of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption measured at ground stations. iScience, 25 (11), 105356. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105356

Lin, J. T., Rajesh, P. K., & Kung, M. M. (2022). Rapid conjugate appearance of the giant ionospheric Lamb Wave signatures in the northern hemisphere after Hunga‐Tonga volcano eruptions. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(8), e2022GL098222

Lynett, P., McCann, M., Zhou, Z., Renteria, W., Borrero, J., Greer, D., Fa’anunu, O., Bosserelle, C., Jaffe, B., La Selle, SP., Ritchie, A., Snyder, A., Nasr, B., Bott, J., Graehl, N., Synolakis, C., Ebrahimi, B., & Ezgi Cinar, G. (2022). Diverse tsunamigenesis triggered by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption. Nature 609, 728–733. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05170-6

Luterbacher, J., & Pfister, C. (2015). The year without a summer. Nature Geoscience. 8, 246–248. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2404

Malawani, M. N., Lavigne, F., Gomez, C., Mutaqin, B. W., & Hadmoko, D. S. (2021). Review of local and global impacts of volcanic eruptions and disaster management practices: the Indonesian example. Geosciences, 11(3), 109

Manneela, S., & Kumar, S. (2022). Overview of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami. Journal of the Geological Society of India 98, 299–304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12594-022-1980-7

Medici, E. F., Allen, J. S. & Waite, G. P. (2014). Modeling shock waves generated by explosive volcanic eruptions. Geophysical Research Letters, 41, 414–421

Millan, L., Santee, M. L., & Froidevaux, L. (2022). The Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai hydration of the stratosphere. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(13), e2022GL099381

NASA (2022). Global sulfur dioxide monitoring galleries. https://so2.gsfc.nasa.gov/omps_2012_now.html

Németh, K. (2022). Geoheritage and geodiversity aspects of catastrophic volcanic eruptions: Lessons from the 15th of January 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption, SW Pacific. International Journal of Geoheritage and Parks, 10(4), 546–568

NIWA (Tahioro Nukurangi), (2023, February 2). Auckland suffers wettest month in history. https://niwa.co.nz/news/auckland-suffers-wettest-month-in-history

Oliveira, J. M., Vedo, S., Campbell, M. D., & Atkinson, J. P. (2010, July 13–15). KSC VAB aeroacoustic hazard assessment [Paper presentation]. DDESB Seminar/DOD, Portland, OR, USA. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20110002902/downloads/20110002902.pdf

Oppenheimer C. (2003a). Climatic, environmental and human consequences of the largest known historic eruption: Tambora volcano (Indonesia) 1815. Progress in Physical Geography, 27(2), 230–259. https://doi.org/10.1191/0309133303pp379ra

Oppenheimer, C. (2003b). Ice core and palaeoclimatic evidence for the timing and nature of the great mid-13th century volcanic eruption. International Journal of Climatology, 23, 417–426. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.891

Ortiz-Huerta, L. G., & Ortiz, M. (2022). On the Hunga-Tonga complex tsunami as observed along the Pacific coast of Mexico on January 15, 2022. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 179(4), 1139–1145

Ospina, W. (2015). El año del verano que nunca llegó [The year of the summer that never came]. Penguin Random House

Pakoksung, K., Suppasri, A., & Imamura, F. (2022). The near-field tsunami generated by the 15 January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano and its impact on Tongatapu, Tonga. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 15187

Poli, P., Shapiro, N. M. (2022). Rapid characterization of large volcanic eruptions: measuring the impulse of the Hunga Tonga Ha’apai explosion from teleseismic waves. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(8), e98123. https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL098123

Proud, S. R., Prata, A. T., & Schmauß, S. (2022). The January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano reached the mesosphere. Science, 378(6619), 554–557

Ramírez-Herrera, M. T., Coca, O., & Vargas-Espinosa, V. (2022). Tsunami effects on the coast of Mexico by the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption, Tonga. Pure and Applied Geophysics, 179(4), 1117–1137

Robock, A. (2000). Volcanic eruptions and climate. Reviews of Geophysics, 38(2), 191–219

Scott, B. J., Travers, J. (2009). Volcano monitoring in NZ and links to SW Pacific via the Wellington VAAC. Natural Hazards, 51(2), 263–273

Sellitto, P., Podglajen, A., & Legras, B. (2022). The unexpected radiative impact of the Hunga Tonga eruption of 15th January 2022. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1), 288

Sigurdsson, H. (1999). Melting the Earth. Oxford University Press

Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program (SGVP). (2022). https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=243040

Sparks, R.S.J., Bursik, M. I., Carey, S. N., Gilbert, J., Glaze, L. S., Sigurdsson, H., & Woods, A. Volcanic Plumes. John Wiley & Sons

Symons, G. J. (1888). 'The Eruption of Krakatoa and Subsequent Phenomena'. Report of the Krakatoa Committee of the Royal Society. London. https://archive.org/details/eruptionofkrakat00roya

Taha, G., Loughman, R., Colarco, P. R., Zhu, T., Thomason, L. W., & Jaross, G. (2022). Tracking the 2022 Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai aerosol cloud in the upper and middle stratosphere using space‐based observations. Geophysical Research Letters, 49(19). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL100091

Thornton, I. W. B. (1997). Krakatau: the destruction and reassembly of an island ecosystem. Harvard University Press

Timmreck, C. (2012). Modeling the climatic effects of large explosive volcanic eruptions. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 3(6), 545–564

Tonga Geological Services. (2022) https://www.facebook.com/tongageologicalservice

Toulkeridis, T., Martinez, N., & Pararas-Carayannis, G. (2022). Impact and response in Central and South America due to the tsunami generated by the submarine eruption of Hunga Tonga Ha’Apai volcano. Science of Tsunami Hazards, 41(1), 1–38

UNOCHA. (2022, January 27). Peru: Oil Spill, flash update no. 02 (as of 27 January 2022). Reliefweb. https://reliefweb.int/report/peru/peru-oil-spill-flash-update-no-02-27-january-2022

Vömel, H., Evan, S., & Tully, M. (2022). Water vapor injection into the stratosphere by Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai. Science, 377(6613), 1444–1447

Webley, P. (2015). Volcanoes and the aviation industry. In S. C. Loughlin, S. Sparks, S. K. Brown, S. F. Jenkins, & C. Vye-Brown (Eds.), Global Volcanic Hazards and Risk (pp.295–298). Cambridge University Press

Winchester, S. (2003). Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded: August 27, 1883. Penguin/Viking

Wright, C. J., Hindley, N. P., & Yue, J. (2022). Surface-to-space atmospheric waves from Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai eruption. Nature, 609(7928), 741–746

Xu, J., Li, D., Bai, Z., Tao, M., & Bian, J. (2022). Large amounts of water vapor were injected into the stratosphere by the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha’apai volcano eruption. Atmosphere, 13(6), 912

Yuen, D. A., Scruggs, M. A., Spera, F, J., Zheng, Y., Hu, H., McNutt, S. R., Thompson, G., Mandli, K., Keller, B. R., Wei, S. S., Peng, Z., Zhou, Z., Mulargia, F., & Tanioka, Y. (2022). Under the surface: Pressure-induced planetary-scale waves, volcanic lightning, and gaseous clouds caused by the submarine eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano. Earthquake Research Advances, 2(3), 100134

Yokoyama, I. (1981). A geophysical interpretation of the 1883 Krakatau eruption. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 9(4), 359–378. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0377027381900445

Zhao, W., Sun, C., & Guo, Z. (2022). Reawaking of Tonga volcano. The Innovation, 3(2), 100218

Zuo, M., Zhou, T., Man, W., Chen, X., Liu, J., Liu, F., & Gao, C. (2022). Volcanoes and climate: sizing up the impact of the recent Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption from a historical perspective. Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, 39, 1986–1993

Zhu, Y., Bardeen, C. G., & Toon, O. B. (2022). Perturbations in stratospheric aerosol evolution due to the water-rich plume of the 2022 Hunga-Tonga eruption. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1), 248

Title: Is the Tonga Eruption (2022) a New Climate Change Threat for the Pacific Basin?
Authors: Mauricio Bretón González
Jesús M. Ibáñez Godoy
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland
Book: Transition to a Safe Anthropocene in the Asia-Pacific
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-66520-2

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-031-66521-9

Copyright Year: 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-66521-9_2

Springer Professional

Abstract

Please log in to get access to your license.

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Springer Professional "Technik"

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"