Remarkable coverage of Tonga volcanic eruption

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NASA Scientists Estimate Tonga Blast At 10 Megatons - Slashdot

According to NASA researchers, the power of a massive volcanic eruption that took place on Saturday near the island nation of Tonga was equivalent to around 10 megatons of TNT. "That means the explosive force was more than 500 times as powerful as the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, at...
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www.bbc.com

Tonga volcano: New images reveal scale of damage after tsunami

Trees are torn down and buildings ripped apart following Saturday's tsunami triggered by a volcano.
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www.bbc.com

Tonga tsunami: Before and after eruption

Satellite and aerial images show impact of eruption of underwater volcano near Tonga island chain.
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muttly said:
I saw the video of the tsunami coming in. Scary stuff to watch let alone
live through.
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Yep, and that tsunami is an unusual one because of it's energy levels very far from the source. Usually with far field or distant tsunami there is some attenuation of the wave energy due to the drag induced by the seafloor, even in the deepest part of the ocean. A wave's depth is 1/2 the wave length and tsunami wave lengths are hundreds of km, which also explains their high velocity which is v = L/t where v= velocity, L = wave length, and t = time (seconds), so wave velocities of 500+ km/h are common in the open ocean, especially where the water depth is over 5,000m in depth.

However this particular tsunami had high energy when it reached coasts far away and was evident in seas that it wouldn't normally appear. This points to a rare phenomena known as ocean - atmosphere phase coupling with the transfer of energy from the atmospheric disturbance to the tsunami through phase coupling. The only other example that I can readily think of is the 1883 Krakatoa eruption and the atmospheric disturbance from that one circled the world three times. However this hasn't been verified yet for the Tongan eruption and is only a possible suggestion on my part. There will have to be some geophysics research done to verify whether or not it happened.

Safety advice WRT tsunami is if you are in a coastal zone and the earthquake is long and strong head to high ground immediately. Don't wait for a warning because you won't have time. If you can't get to high ground, get into a multi-story building and go up at least three or four stories. The higher the better. Most tsunami victims aren't killed from drowning, but by blunt force trauma; debris entrained in the water flow, such as trees, vehicles, buildings, building debris, rocks, boats, ships etc. Even when you get warning of a far field tsunami coming don't go down to the beach to watch it come in. You will most likely die. If you want to watch it, find somewhere high and safe to do so. It's amazing the number of idiots who go down to the beach to watch a tsunami coming in.

Another video of the eruption. It's a 19 minute sequence of satellite videos.

View: https://youtu.be/pCe1EP1gmc4
 
Shockwave was felt half way around the world.
I think it wasn't a volcano. Russia could have been testing this:
 

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NZ GNS (Geological & Nuclear Sciences) update on Saturday's Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption. Initial estimates put the eruption volume at twice the size of the 1980 Mount St Helens eruption. They haven't seen a volcanic tsunami event like this since the 1883 Krakatoa eruption. The atmospheric shockwave has circled the planet a few times and is still continuing to do so.

GeoNet: News

www.geonet.org.nz www.geonet.org.nz
 
kcran567 said:
Shockwave was felt half way around the world.
I think it wasn't a volcano. Russia could have been testing this:
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Nope, doesn't make a big enough bang. It could be a secret ANZAC weapons project that involves the sudden release of extraordinary amounts of energy, using exotic matter. One just never knows. The Australians are already weaponizing dropbears and they are vicious and deadly enough without being weaponized.
 
This happened where the usa tested hundreds of nukes.
It so happens the rad monitoring systems was down for maintenance.

The status 6 is 100 megaton, twice as powerful as Tsar Bomba (which itself was 4000x more powerful than Hiroshima bomb)
As you might be aware Russia and US seem to be mobilizing for a war over Ukraine.

Just my opinion that it was a status 6, maybe even antimatter weapon test.

There are probably a few antimatter bombs in esistence also, the Cern accellerator has been putting out antimatter for awhile now.

Status 6 2x as powerful as the the largest weapon Tsar Bomba on the far Right:
 

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kcran567 said:
This happened where the usa tested hundreds of nukes.
It so happens the rad monitoring systems was down for maintenance.

The status 6 is 100 kiloton, twice as powerful as Tsar Bomba (which itself was 4000x more powerful than Hiroshima bomb)
As you might be aware Russia and US seem to be mobilizing for a war over Ukraine.

Just my opinion that it was a status 6, maybe even antimatter weapon test.

There are probably a few antimatter bombs in esistence also, the Cern accellerator has been putting out antimatter for awhile now.

Status 6 2x as powerful as the the largest weapon Tsar Bomba on the far Right:
Click to expand...

Radiation monitoring isn't the only method of detecting whether a nuclear bomb has exploded. Nukes have a distinctive seismic signature, and seismic recorders are in use all over the world. If a nuke had gone off, someone would have published by now.

CERN produces individual atoms of antimatter, far too little to be useful as a bomb. We have no way to contain those safely and transport them halfway across the world.
 
Sheesh does everything HAVE to be a conspiracy theory these days?

People died and peoples homes and livelihoods have been destroyed and its just grist for the conspiracy mill yet again.
 
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I will say this-the blast looks bigger than 10 megatons...which is what is being reported now.
 
Orionblamblam said:
kcran567 said:
There are probably a few antimatter bombs in esistence also, the Cern accellerator has been putting out antimatter for awhile now.
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I can't tell if you're ᚠᚪᛣᚳᛁᚾᚷ with us or not.
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That was a helluva explosion and shockwave...I have my own opinion it was a status 6 or antimatter test...I'm not so sure it was natural occurrence. Never been one as large recorded. Near known test site for nukes...
 
Statistically speaking Earth was somewhat overdue for a big one (VEI>=5). No confirmed data yet of course, but this looks like it could have been in that ball park (~30km reported eruption column height).

Throughout the 20th century, such an eruption took place roughly every 5 to 10 years - the last one was 10 years ago, and the one before that 30 years ago. There were two approximately 20-year gaps in the 20th century too, but these were bracketed by phases of elevated activity. Sometimes "double taps" within a year or two (last such double tap was in fact 30 years ago).
 
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publiusr said:
I will say this-the blast looks bigger than 10 megatons...which is what is being reported now.
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This eruption continues to pump steam and ash into the air for several hours after the explosion.
 
kcran567 said:
That was a helluva explosion and shockwave...I have my own opinion it was a status 6 or antimatter test...I'm not so sure it was natural occurrence. Never been one as large recorded.
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There have been a number of vocanic detonations more powerful than that recorded. Krakatoa, for example. Tambora, far more so.

kcran567 said:
Near known test site for nukes...
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It was also a known and growing volcano. The explosion was also *multiple* explosions, as can be heard in the audio:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUGBtp7jHKc


And *antimatter*? Really?

A suggestion: calculate the mass of antimatter required to create a 10 megaton blast. And then calculate how many centuries would be required for CERN, working 24/7, 365 days a year, to produce that much antimatter.
 
Hood said:
Sheesh does everything HAVE to be a conspiracy theory these days?

People died and peoples homes and livelihoods have been destroyed and its just grist for the conspiracy mill yet again.
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Exactly! People posting such garbage are delusional at best. They should also consider looking for somewhere else to post said garbage since such posts could be considered a breach of Forum Rules:

  • Posts on alien UFOs, speculative Nazi wunderwaffen/flying saucers/atomic bombs, general conspiracy theories, alien crashes, moon landing denial and the like are specifically discouraged and would be better posted elsewhere.
 
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NASA estimates the blast at 10 Megatons whereas the New Zealand GNS puts it at 48 Megatons. Given the general area’s history in monitoring Megaton testing I would have for both measurements to be a bit closer.
 
Request for observations following the Tongan eruption and tsunami.

The NZ GNS (Geological & Nuclear Sciences) are requesting people to contact them if they saw, heard, felt or were physically affected by either the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption and subsequent tsunami. This includes the atmospheric shock wave and it doesn't matter where abouts in the world that you live. They have an online form to fill out at the link below and it doesn’t take long. This helps them build up their database on the event and their understanding of the event.

GeoNet: News

www.geonet.org.nz www.geonet.org.nz
 
Orionblamblam said:
In_A_Dream said:
The world is lucky that this is all that resulted from the blast.
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There's always next time. Wait till Campi Flegrei does its thing. Wheeeeeee!!!!!
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Of all the super volcanoes, the Yellowstone super volcano will cause the most economic damage because it will wipe out all of the US Midwest. The rest include Naples Campi Flegeri complex, Taupo in NZ, Macauley Island iocated halfway between New Zealand and Tonga,Toba and Tambora in Indonesia Baekdu Mountain on the border of North Korea and China, Aira Caldera, Japan, Kurile Lake and Karymshina, Russia, Pacana Caldera, Chile, Cerro Galan, Argentina, and Pastos Grandes Caldera, Bolivia. The last to erupt with a VEI eruption was Taupo 28,800 years ago. Ash particles from that was found in Antarctica ice cores. Taupo is about 2800 miles north of the ice. Great trout fishing there now if you are so inclined.

Hence a few with the capability to really blow their tops literally. It's not a matter of if but when.
 
kcran567 said:
This happened where the usa tested hundreds of nukes.
It so happens the rad monitoring systems was down for maintenance.

The status 6 is 100 megaton, twice as powerful as Tsar Bomba (which itself was 4000x more powerful than Hiroshima bomb)
As you might be aware Russia and US seem to be mobilizing for a war over Ukraine.

Just my opinion that it was a status 6, maybe even antimatter weapon test.

There are probably a few antimatter bombs in esistence also, the Cern accellerator has been putting out antimatter for awhile now.

Status 6 2x as powerful as the the largest weapon Tsar Bomba on the far Right:
Click to expand...
Ah then how are they able to manufacture and store sufficient quantities of antimatter without it coming into contact with matter? You do know what happens when matter and antimatter meet? Do you actually understand the quantum physics that describes such matters (pun intended). To manufacture and store the amount of antimatter required for one antimatter weapon will cost more than the combined values of the entire world economies, both public and private. Maybe one day in the distance future but not at the moment.

At the moment a lot of effort and resourcing is being expended upon nuclear fusion reactors and there maybe some promise there. The problems appear to be related to the efficiency of the magnets that for the magnetic field to restraint the very high temperature, high pressure plasma within the tokomak. Currently the energy budget is in deficit with input far more than output, plus there are some other problems. However progress is still being made.
 
ngatimozart said:
Of all the super volcanoes, the Yellowstone super volcano will cause the most economic damage because it will wipe out all of the US Midwest. The rest include Naples Campi Flegeri complex, Taupo in NZ, Macauley Island iocated halfway between New Zealand and Tonga,Toba and Tambora in Indonesia Baekdu Mountain on the border of North Korea and China, Aira Caldera, Japan, Kurile Lake and Karymshina, Russia, Pacana Caldera, Chile, Cerro Galan, Argentina, and Pastos Grandes Caldera, Bolivia. The last to erupt with a VEI eruption was Taupo 28,800 years ago. Ash particles from that was found in Antarctica ice cores. Taupo is about 2800 miles north of the ice. Great trout fishing there now if you are so inclined.

Hence a few with the capability to really blow their tops literally. It's not a matter of if but when.
Click to expand...

If it was any bigger, we may have had ourselves a couple years of colder weather. Boy would that send the climate changers into a tizzy.
 
Hobbes said:
publiusr said:
I will say this-the blast looks bigger than 10 megatons...which is what is being reported now.
Click to expand...
This eruption continues to pump steam and ash into the air for several hours after the explosion.
Click to expand...
The shock wave looks most notable after the eruption column had blossomed a bit...likely when the area collapsed beneath the waves. It would have been nice to have had sat-photos of nuclear tests to compare notes. The New Zealand estimate might be more accurate-just eyeballing it. Rampino would be a great person to interview.
 
In_A_Dream said:
ngatimozart said:
Of all the super volcanoes, the Yellowstone super volcano will cause the most economic damage because it will wipe out all of the US Midwest. The rest include Naples Campi Flegeri complex, Taupo in NZ, Macauley Island iocated halfway between New Zealand and Tonga,Toba and Tambora in Indonesia Baekdu Mountain on the border of North Korea and China, Aira Caldera, Japan, Kurile Lake and Karymshina, Russia, Pacana Caldera, Chile, Cerro Galan, Argentina, and Pastos Grandes Caldera, Bolivia. The last to erupt with a VEI eruption was Taupo 28,800 years ago. Ash particles from that was found in Antarctica ice cores. Taupo is about 2800 miles north of the ice. Great trout fishing there now if you are so inclined.

Hence a few with the capability to really blow their tops literally. It's not a matter of if but when.
Click to expand...

If it was any bigger, we may have had ourselves a couple years of colder weather. Boy would that send the climate changers into a tizzy.
Click to expand...

It would kind of Earth taking... terraforming / global warming mitigation into its own hands.
I mean, really.

"So you pesky humans want to inject sulfur into the high atmosphere to try and slow global warming ? Let me do that my own, brutal way."

Note: it has been scientifically proven that the Krakatoa big (and murderous) KABOOM on August 27, 1883 slowed down early onslaught of global warming (since the industrial revolution coal-burning-orgy had started in 1830). It send a crapload of ash and sulfur in the high atmosphere, slightly tweaking the climate for the next decade.
No such luck for the other even larger KABOOM - Tambora - in 1815: too early.
Heck, even the much smaller Pinatubo bout of anger in '91 had a small impact on global warming.
 
Of all the super volcanoes, the Yellowstone super volcano will cause the most economic damage because it will wipe out all of the US Midwest.
Click to expand...

The rest include - Naples Campi Flegeri complex
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- Taupo in NZ
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- Macauley Island located halfway between New Zealand and Tonga
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-Toba and Tambora in Indonesia
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-Baekdu Mountain on the border of North Korea and China
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-Aira Caldera, Japan
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-Kurile Lake and Karymshina, Russia
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-Pacana Caldera, Chile
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Cerro Galan, Argentina
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Pastos Grandes Caldera, Bolivia.
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The last to erupt with a VEI eruption was Taupo 28,800 years ago. Ash particles from that was found in Antarctica ice cores. Taupo is about 2800 miles north of the ice. Great trout fishing there now if you are so inclined.
Click to expand...

Very interesting list. New Zealand and Indonesia certainly have a (violent) knack for launching themselves to the Moon on top of giganormous volcanic tantrums.

It often amaze me Tambora and Krakatoa martyrized the same (very unfortunate) corner of the world only 68 years apart.

In passing, why isn't Krakatoa on the list ? did it destroyed itself into oblivion in 1883 ?
 
Orionblamblam said:
Grey Havoc said:
www.bbc.com

Tonga volcano: Biblical disaster shakes most Mormon nation in the world

Tonga is the world's most Mormon nation and the Church is playing a key role after the volcanic eruption.
www.bbc.com www.bbc.com
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"Tonga is the world's most Mormon nation..."

Having lived for a decade and a half in Utah and seeing the large number of Pacific Islanders who adopted Mormonism and moved to Utah... that sort of thing is never not going to be weird to me.
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Lots of Polynesians in the Salt Lake City area. Mostly Tongans and Samoans but some Hawaiians as well.
 

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