This Violent Volcanic Eruption May Have Revealed a Hidden “Emergency Brake” for Climate Change

This Violent Volcanic Eruption May Have Revealed a Hidden “Emergency Brake” for Climate Change

Open the article to view the coverage from The Debrief

Violent Tonga volcano eruption polluted the sky, then cleaned it too, study finds

The significance of this comes down to methane, which is responsible for one-third of global warming and is roughly 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year period.

A Volcano Erupted and Accidentally Started Cleaning the Atmosphere

Formaldehyde is not supposed to be in the stratosphere. The molecule survives for a few hours at most before sunlight tears it apart, so finding a cloud of it drifting 30 kilometres above the South Pacific, stretching for thousands of kilometres and persisting for more than a week, was the kind of thing that makes atmospheric chemists stop and read the satellite data twice. The cloud appeared in January 2022, in the wake of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga…

Volcano found to be cleaning up its own methane pollution

Scientists have uncovered a surprising climate twist from one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in modern history: a volcano that appeared to clean up some of its own methane pollution. New research into the 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai volcano has revealed that the underwater volcano…

Satellite Measures Methane Oxidation After Hunga Tonga Eruption

In an unprecedented convergence of natural catastrophe and atmospheric chemistry, scientists have unveiled groundbreaking insights into the methane dynamics triggered by the colossal Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption. This recent study leverages advanced satellite technologies to quantify enhanced methane oxidation occurring within the stratospheric plume emitted by the eruption. By meticulously analyzing satellite data, researchers ha…

Environmental News Network - Scientists Stunned: Volcano Cleans up After Itself by Removing Methane from the Air

A global perspective on environmental issues. Our mission is to inform, educate, enable and create a platform for global environmental action.