{"id":43894,"date":"2021-12-19T23:59:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-19T23:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/?p=43894"},"modified":"2022-12-10T00:14:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-10T00:14:36","slug":"eruption-of-the-hunga-tonga-hunga-haapai-volcano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cimss.ssec.wisc.edu\/satellite-blog\/archives\/43894","title":{"rendered":"Eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ash Height product [click to play animated GIF | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>\n

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha?apai<\/a><\/b> volcano in Tonga violently erupted around 2030 UTC on 19 December 2021 — and a radiometrically-retrieved Ash Height product from the NOAA\/CIMSS Volcanic Cloud Monitoring<\/strong><\/a> site (using JMA<\/strong><\/a> Himawari-8 data) indicated that ash was ejected as high as 16-18 km (above)<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ash Loading was very high within the volcanic cloud, with particles having a large Ash Effective Radius (below)<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Ash Loading product [click to play animated GIF | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>\n

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Ash Effective Radius product [click to play animated GIF | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>\n

In GOES-17 (GOES-East)<\/em> Ash RGB<\/strong><\/a> images created using Geo2Grid<\/strong><\/a> (below)<\/strong><\/em>, brighter shades of yellow indicated that significant concentrations of SO2 were present within the volcanic cloud — while shades of red supported the presence of ash.<\/p>\n

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GOES-17 Ash RGB images [click to play animated GIF | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>\n

GOES-17 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB<\/strong><\/a> images (below)<\/strong><\/em> clearly showed the expansion of the glaciated volcanic cloud (brighter shades of orange).<\/p>\n

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GOES-17 Day Cloud Phase Distinction RGB images (credit: Tim Schmit, NOAA\/NESDIS\/ASPB) [click to play animated GIF | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>\n

GOES-17 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 \u00b5m<\/strong><\/a>) images (below)<\/strong><\/em> indicated that the coldest cloud-top infrared brightness temperatures were in the -80 to -89C range (shades of violet).<\/p>\n

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GOES-17 “Clean” Infrared Window (10.35 \u00b5m) images [click to play animated GIF | MP4<\/strong><\/a>]<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n

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Here's another cool view of the Tonga volcanic eruption

This is how two different satellites saw it, at exactly the same time. Nice pseudo-3d effect! https:\/\/t.co\/iswrCaJMpX<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/M8xInwyXl6<\/a><\/p>— Simon Proud (@simon_sat) December 20, 2021<\/a><\/blockquote>