On the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano:
- It may have looked spectacular from afar, but up close it would have seemed apocalyptic, a constant blaze of light soundtracked by endless thunder and volcanic bellows. Most of the lightning wasn’t isolated to the plume but also hit the ground and the ocean. - National Geographic
- One of the ways that we can tell pretty much right away that it’s a significant eruption is that the plume of ash in the eruption column was measured at 20 kilometers. That’s over 10 miles high. So, that means it’s gone significantly far from the source under the water. And just the height of the ash plume alone tells us that the force needed to generate that was massive. Just from that we know we’ve got something big on our hands. - New York Magazine
- Now a new study shows even relatively minor climate variations may have such an influence [on volcanic eruptions]. If they are right, today’s global warming could mean more and bigger volcanic eruptions in the future. - Scientific American