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Spectral characteristics of ionospheric disturbances over the Southwestern Pacific from the January 15, 2022 Tonga eruption and tsunami
  • Jessica N Ghent,
  • Brendan W Crowell
Jessica N Ghent
University of Washington, University of Washington

Corresponding Author:jghent@uw.edu

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Brendan W Crowell
University of Washington, University of Washington
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Abstract

On January 15, 2022, Tonga’s Hunga volcano violently erupted, generating a tsunami that killed at least three people. Acoustic-gravity waves propagated by both the eruption and tsunami caused global complex ionospheric disturbances. In this paper, we study the nature of these disturbances from Global Navigation Satellite System observables over the southwestern Pacific. After processing data from 818 ground stations, we find that supersonic acoustic waves, Lamb waves, and tsunamis are all detected, with filtered magnitudes between 1 and 7 Total Electron Content units. Disturbances appear superpositioned up to ~1000 km from Hunga and are distinct beyond this distance. Within ~2000 km, signals have an initial low-frequency pulse that transition to higher frequencies. The arrival of tsunami-generated ionospheric disturbances coincides with deep-ocean observations. Lastly, we find that the Lamb wave and initial tsunami propagated minutes apart at the same velocity, leading to earlier land arrivals than predicted.