2022 Tonga Eruption Pierced a Hole, in Earth’s Ozone Layer, , Study Says.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the 2022 eruption <br />of the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Haapai volcano <br />blasted a hole in the Earth's ozone layer. .<br />According to a new study published in the journal <br />'Science,' the chunk taken out of the Earth's protective <br />barrier was caused by water vapor from the eruption. .<br />On January 15 of 2022, the explosive eruption on the <br />island of Tonga released 100,000 times more energy <br />than the nuclear bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan. .<br />'Newsweek' reports that the new study found <br />the ozone layer above some regions was depleted <br />by up to 5% within a single week of the eruption.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the new study found <br />the ozone layer above some regions was depleted <br />by up to 5% within a single week of the eruption.<br />The impact on the atmosphere was caused by huge amounts <br />of water, black ash, hydrochloric acid (HCI) and sulfur <br />dioxide forming towering 34-meter-high plumes of vapor.<br />Usually there are roughly <br />four million water molecules <br />per million in the stratosphere, <br />and the volcanic plume <br />contained up to 300, Olaf Morgenstern, Principal atmosphere and <br />climatescientist at New Zealand's National Institute <br />of Water and Atmospherics (NIWA), via 'Newsweek'.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the vapor towers react <br />with other chemicals ejected by the volcano, <br />which resulted in a break down of the atmosphere <br />above the southwestern Pacific and Indian Ocean.<br />Major volcanic eruptions can <br />inject gases and particles into <br />the stratosphere (approximately <br />15-50 km [9.3 miles to 31 miles] <br />above Earth's surface) where <br />the protective ozone layer resides, Laura Revell, Associate professor of physical and chemical sciences at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, via 'Newsweek'.<br />It is fairly common to see <br />short-term ozone losses <br />following a major eruption <br />as a result of reactions involving <br />volcanic aerosol and chlorine, Laura Revell, Associate professor of physical and chemical sciences at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, via 'Newsweek'.<br />It is fairly common to see <br />short-term ozone losses <br />following a major eruption <br />as a result of reactions involving <br />volcanic aerosol and chlorine, Laura Revell, Associate professor of physical and chemical sciences at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, via 'Newsweek'.<br />'Newsweek' reports that the authors of the paper <br />hope their findings will help shed light on how natural <br />disasters impact the atmosphere and climate change.
