Near-Real-Time analysis of the ionospheric response to the 15 January
2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption
Abstract
We present a near-real-time (NRT) scenario of analysis of ionospheric
response to the 15 January 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption by
using GNSS data. We introduce a new method to determine instantaneous
velocities using an interferometric approach and using the time
derivative of the total electron content (TEC). Moreover, for the first
time, we propose a novel method that automatically estimates the
propagation velocity of disturbances from near-real-time travel-time
diagrams. By using our new methods, we analyzed the dynamics of
co-volcanic ionospheric disturbances generated by the Hunga-Tonga
eruption, and we estimated the first propagation velocity to be
~800-950 m/s, which subsequently decreased to
~600 m/s. We demonstrate that our approach can be used
to detect, analyze and identify the complexity of a natural hazard
event. Also, it is important to note that our new methods can perform at
a low spatial resolution and 30-sec cadence data.