Infrasound associated with the eruption of the Hunga volcano

Abstract

On 13–15 January 2022, the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai underwater volcano erupted. This powerful eruption generated infrasonic waves with amplitudes of thousands of Pascals in the near field. The ground infrasonic stations in China, located approximately 10 000 km from the Hunga volcano, also received waves with frequencies from 0.01 to 0.05 Hz. However, the amplitude reached 17 Pa, which is higher than the predicted amplitude using the absorption model without considering the dispersion effect in the thin thermosphere. At high altitudes, dispersion exists and the sound speed depends on the ratio of the molecular mean collision ratio to sound frequency, which is proportional to the ratio (frequency/pressure). And attenuation coefficients are complex to model. We simulate dispersive sound speeds and attenuation coefficients at different frequencies according to theory and our experimental data. In the thermosphere, the dispersion effect causes noticeable changes of sound speed and then affects wave propagation paths in the far field. The abnormal attenuation coefficient has a smaller impact on thermospheric returns than that of the dispersive sound speed, but it is also not negligible. It explains the large amplitude of thermospheric signals received in our infrasound stations. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Royal Society Newton International Fellowship’.