What is the impact of Tonga volcano eruption?

Say another historical memorabilia:

18 15 years, the Tambora volcano, which had been sleeping for 5,000 years on Sombawa Island in Indonesia, suddenly erupted.

This is the most terrible volcanic eruption ever recorded by mankind, with a power level of VEI7, and the total volume of volcanic ash ejected is as high as 150 cubic kilometers. A year later, volcanic ash enveloped the whole earth with the airflow; The sky darkened and the temperature plummeted, and all mankind entered a "year without summer". There was a snowstorm in the United States in June, rivers in Pennsylvania froze in July and August, and there was a large-scale food shortage in Europe. About 200,000 people died in this abnormal weather. In China, there was a severe famine in Yunnan Province, and hunger was everywhere. It should be the end of June in the midsummer in Jiangxi, with heavy snow! "Jiangxi Pengze County Records" records: "In late June, the north wind was cold, especially in the 29 th night, and it was nine in the morning, and snow was seen on the vast Shan Ye."

The picture at the beginning of the article is not a special effect scene in the movie, but a violent volcanic eruption near Tonga this year, 65438+1October 65438+May 2022.

The whole process of Tonga volcano eruption recorded by satellite images;

Huge mushroom clouds rushed out of the sea without warning, and the sea surface "exploded" in a large area, and the airflow and wave ripples quickly spread outward.

Tonga, the full name of the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country located in the southwest of the Pacific Ocean, which consists of 172 islands of different sizes. It is 650 kilometers west of Fiji and 0/770 kilometers southwest of New Zealand/KLOC, covering an area of about 748 square kilometers.

China and China have been diplomatic relations for 20 years and are exempt from visas. There is an embassy in the local area. Population103000 (2011), China population is about 2000 (estimated).

Tonga cathedral

The pillar industries are whale watching and diving tourism.

So how powerful is this volcanic eruption?

A netizen who claimed to be in Tonga recorded the scene of volcanic eruption before disconnecting the internet:

Meteorological tuba @ China Meteorologist? The author wrote:

The intensity of this volcanic eruption is likely to reach the upper end of VEI5, and may even reach VEI6.

(You know, the huge volcanic eruption that once wiped out Pompeii was just VEI4 or VEI5. )

What is even more frightening is that the volcanic ash column with a diameter of about 5km and a height of 20km rises from the ground, which is equivalent to three "little boy" atomic bombs exploding at the same time.

"Little Boy" atomic bomb data map

Volcanic ash will mainly have a huge impact on flights, and surface volcanic eruption will lead to a large number of volcanic ash entering the air. The main component of volcanic ash is silicon dioxide, which will cause the aircraft engine to block and turn off, thus causing accidents.

This also means that aviation operations cannot be carried out within the scope of volcanic ash diffusion.

The eruption of 20 10 Iceland volcano directly paralyzed the aviation industry in most parts of Europe.

In the case of aviation interruption, international rescue can't arrive at the first time, and even can only go by boat. This will greatly delay the progress of rescue and disposal.

After the volcanic eruption, tsunamis followed.

Subsequently, Tonga's national network, communication and power supply system were paralyzed, and all contacts with the outside world could not be connected.

The climate along the entire Pacific coast will be affected. In the short run, a large amount of sulfur dioxide will lead to cooling, and in the long run, carbon dioxide will lead to warming. (Long-term direct release of a large amount of carbon dioxide, a large amount of acid rain, and acid rain releasing underground carbon dioxide are all causes of warming. )

Therefore, this volcanic eruption will not only affect the kingdom of Tonga, but also a series of chain reactions will be gradually reflected in the future. To what extent, then we can only look at the follow-up situation.