Propagation of Perturbations in the Lower and Upper Atmosphere over the Central Mediterranean, Driven by the 15 January 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Volcano Explosion

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano (Pacific Ocean) generated a cataclysmic explosion on 15 January 2022, triggering several atmospheric disturbances at a global scale, as a huge increase in the total electron content (TEC) in the ionosphere, and a pressure wave travelling in the troposphere. We c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Atmosphere Vol. 14; no. 1; p. 65
Main Authors:	Madonia, Paolo, Bonaccorso, Alessandro, Bonforte, Alessandro, Buonocunto, Ciro, Cannata, Andrea, Carleo, Luigi, Cesaroni, Claudio, Currenti, Gilda, De Gregorio, Sofia, Di Lieto, Bellina, Guerra, Marco, Orazi, Massimo, Pasotti, Luigi, Peluso, Rosario, Pezzopane, Michael, Restivo, Vito, Romano, Pierdomenico, Sciotto, Mariangela, Spogli, Luca
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Basel MDPI AG 01-01-2023
Subjects:	Acoustics Atmosphere Atmospheric disturbances Atmospheric pressure Barometers Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide flux Elastic waves Explosions GNSS Gravity waves Information systems Ionograms Ionosondes Ionosphere Ionospheric electron content Ionospheric plasma Ionospheric propagation Ionospheric sounding lithosphere–atmosphere–ionosphere coupling Meteorological information Orography Perturbation Pressure Pressure waves Propagation soil degassing Surveillance Total Electron Content Traveling ionospheric disturbances travelling ionospheric disturbances Troposphere Upper atmosphere Volcanoes Wave diffraction Wave fronts Wavelength Italy Pacific Ocean United Kingdom > UK Tonga
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Summary:	The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano (Pacific Ocean) generated a cataclysmic explosion on 15 January 2022, triggering several atmospheric disturbances at a global scale, as a huge increase in the total electron content (TEC) in the ionosphere, and a pressure wave travelling in the troposphere. We collected and analysed data over the Mediterranean to study these disturbances, and in particular, (i) data from the barometric and infrasonic stations installed on Italian active volcanoes by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) for investigating the tropospheric pressure waves; (ii) barometric data from the INGV-TROPOMAG and SIAS (Sicilian Agro-meteorological Information System) networks, for investigating the interaction between the orography and pressure waves; (iii) ionograms from the Advanced Ionospheric Sounder-INGV ionosonde at Gibilmanna (Sicily, Italy); (iv) data from the RING (Rete Italiana Integrata GNSS) network, to retrieve the ionospheric TEC; (v) soil CO2 flux data from the INGV surveillance network of Vulcano Island. The analysis of the ground-level barometric data highlights that pressure waves were reflected and diffracted by the topographic surface, creating a complex space–time dynamic of the atmospheric disturbances travelling over Sicily, driven by the interference among the different wavefronts. The ionograms show that a medium-scale travelling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID), with a horizontal wavelength of about 220 km and a period of about 35 min, propagated through the ionospheric plasma in the correspondence of the first barometric variations. Moreover, comparing detrended TEC and barometric data, we further confirmed the presence of the aforementioned MSTID together with its close relation to the tropospheric disturbance.
ISSN:	2073-4433 2073-4433
DOI:	10.3390/atmos14010065