Massive Tonga Volcano Plume Reached the Mesosphere – 38 Miles Into the Atmosphere

When an underwater volcano erupted near the small, uninhabited island of Hunga
Tonga-Hunga Ha‘apai in January 2022, two weather satellites were uniquely
positioned to observe the height and breadth of the plume. Together they
captured what is likely the highest plume in the satellite record.

Scientists at NASA’s Langley Research Center analyzed data from NOAA’s
Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite 17 (GOES-17) and the
Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Himawari-8, which both operate
in geostationary orbit and carry very similar imaging instruments. The team
calculated that the plume from the January 15 volcanic eruption rose to 58
kilometers (36 miles) at its highest point. Gas, steam, and ash from the
volcano reached the mesosphere, the third layer of the atmosphere.

Prior to the Tonga eruption, the largest known volcanic plume in the satellite
era came from Mount Pinatubo, which spewed ash and aerosols up to 35
kilometers (22 miles) into the air above the Philippines in 1991. The Tonga
plume was 1.5 times the height of the Pinatubo plume.

“The intensity of this event far exceeds that of any storm cloud I have ever
studied,” said Kristopher Bedka, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Langley who
specializes in studying extreme storms. “We are fortunate that it was viewed
so well by our latest generation of geostationary satellites and we can use
this data in innovative ways to document its evolution.”

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