(ANSA) – ROME, MAY 24 – Researchers have just finished mapping the crater of the underwater volcano of Tonga which, on January 15, produced the largest atmospheric explosion on Earth in over a century. The Hunga-Tonga Caldera Hunga-Ha’apai is now 4km wide and drops to a base 850 meters below sea level. Before the catastrophic eruption, the base was located at a depth of about 150 meters.
“If all of Tongatapu, the main island of Tonga, had been scraped to sea level, it would only fill two-thirds of the caldera,” said Professor Shane Cronin of the University of Auckland, New Zealand, writes the BBC online. posted spectacular photos of the research.
Comparing with the pre-eruption maps of the caldera, made in 2016 and 2015, the changes are very visible. In addition to general insight, large chunks have been lost from the interior rock walls, particularly at the southern end of the crater. “The northeastern side looks a bit thin and otherwise a tsunami would endanger the Ha’apai Islands. But the volcano’s structure looks pretty sturdy,” says the prof. Cronin.
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Source: Ansa
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