Hunga volcano eruption's unexpected Southern Hemisphere cooling effect challenges geoengineering assumptions

The implications of the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption

The Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption of January 2022 was expected to warm the planet, as hundreds of millions of tonnes of water vapour was injected into the atmosphere. But it didn’t according to US researchers. Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai is a submarine volcano, with a vent 200m below the ocean’s surface. It sits 20o south of the Equator (Sydney is 33oS), on the boundary of the Pacific and Indo-Australian tectonic plates, about 65km north of Tongat…

Hunga volcano eruption's unexpected Southern Hemisphere cooling effect challenges geoengineering assumptions

When Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, an underwater volcano near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean, erupted in 2022, scientists expected that it would spew enough water vapor into the stratosphere to push global temperatures past the 1.5 C threshold set by the Paris Accords. A new UCLA-led study shows that not only did the eruption not warm the planet, but it actually reduced temperatures over the Southern Hemisphere by 0.1 C.

Hunga Volcano Eruption Cooled, Rather Than Warmed, Earth's Southern Hemisphere - Astrobiology

When Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai, an underwater volcano near Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean, erupted in 2022, scientists expected that it would spew enough water vapor into the stratosphere to push global temperatures past the 1.5 C threshold set by the Paris Accords. A new UCLA-led study shows that not only did the eruption not […] The post Hunga Volcano Eruption Cooled, Rather Than Warmed, Earth’s Southern Hemisphere appeared first on Astrobio…

Hunga volcano eruption cooled, rather than warmed, the Southern Hemisphere

A new UCLA-led study shows that the 2022 eruption of underwater volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haʻapai did not warm the planet as was expected but actually reduced temperatures over the Southern Hemisphere by 0.1 C.

The large eruption of the Tongan volcano in 2022 not only did not warm the planet, as one might expect from the massive ejection of water vapor, but also reduced temperatures in the southern hemisphere by 0.1 °C.

Hunga Volcano Eruption Cools, Instead of Heats, Southern Hemisphere

On January 15, 2022, the underwater volcano Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai erupted with unprecedented ferocity, catching the attention of the global scientific community. This eruption, located just 200 meters beneath the ocean’s surface, unleashed a massive plume of ash, gases, and particularly water vapor high into the stratosphere. Researchers had anticipated a significant warming effect on the planet due to the substantial amounts of water vapor …