The Tonga volcano eruption caused a 'super bubble' in Earth's ionosphere, disrupting satellite navigation
With technology increasingly embedded in our everyday lives, it is becoming more important to understand space weather and its impacts on tech.
When one hears "space weather," one typically thinks of huge explosions on the sun—coronal mass ejections hurled towards Earth, creating beautiful displays of aurora.
However, not all space weather starts at the sun.
The volcanic eruption in Tonga in January 2022 was so large, it created waves in the upper atmosphere that constituted their own form of space weather.
However, not all space weather starts at the sun.
The volcanic eruption in Tonga in January 2022 was so large, it created waves in the upper atmosphere that constituted their own form of space weather.
It was one of the largest explosions in modern history and impacted GPS across Australia and Southeast Asia. As we describe in our new study in the journal Space Weather, the eruption caused a super "plasma bubble" over northern Australia that lasted for hours.
A truly global positioning system
While most people have a GPS (global positioning system) receiver on their devices (such as a satnavs and smartphones), not many know how GPS actually works.
A truly global positioning system
While most people have a GPS (global positioning system) receiver on their devices (such as a satnavs and smartphones), not many know how GPS actually works.
GOES-18 image of Hunga Tonga Volcano. Credit: NOAA
Disturbance in the GPS signals due to the ionosphere following the eruption. Brett Carter, Author provided
Simulation showing the size and extent of a normal-size plasma bubble (left) next to that of the super bubble that reached above Northeastern Australia (right). The pink shading is the projection of the bubbles onto the map. Credit: Rezy Pradipta, Author provided