A Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash From the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption
Abstract The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai submarine volcano recently resumed activity. Violent eruptions on 14th and 15th January 2022 launched a tall ash plume that produced extremely high lightning rates. Here we report a terrestrial gamma‐ray flash (TGF) that was produced by the volcanic lightn...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099660 |
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| author | M. S. Briggs S. Lesage C. Schultz B. Mailyan R. H. Holzworth |
| author_facet | M. S. Briggs S. Lesage C. Schultz B. Mailyan R. H. Holzworth |
| author_sort | M. S. Briggs |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai submarine volcano recently resumed activity. Violent eruptions on 14th and 15th January 2022 launched a tall ash plume that produced extremely high lightning rates. Here we report a terrestrial gamma‐ray flash (TGF) that was produced by the volcanic lightning and observed from space by the Fermi Gamma‐ray Burst Monitor (GBM). Observations by radio lightning networks and especially by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper show that the only lightning close enough to produce a TGF detectable by Fermi GBM was from the volcano's plume. With the observing duration of Fermi, observing a single TGF is consistent with the hypothesis that the volcanic lightning of this eruption produced TGFs at the average rate of thunderstorm lightning. The observation of a strong TGF from space also indicates that the electric field was oriented so as to accelerate electrons upward. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-71ab8809355e494ba336e96f3ccbb83d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-71ab8809355e494ba336e96f3ccbb83d2025-08-20T03:14:16ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072022-07-014914n/an/a10.1029/2022GL099660A Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash From the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic EruptionM. S. Briggs0S. Lesage1C. Schultz2B. Mailyan3R. H. Holzworth4Center for Space Plasma and Aeronomic Research (CSPAR) University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville AL USADeptment of Space Sciences University of Alabama in Huntsville Huntsville AL USAEarth Science Office NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville AL USACenter for Astro, Particle and Planetary Physics New York University Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi UAEEarth and Space Sciences University of Washington Seattle WA USAAbstract The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai submarine volcano recently resumed activity. Violent eruptions on 14th and 15th January 2022 launched a tall ash plume that produced extremely high lightning rates. Here we report a terrestrial gamma‐ray flash (TGF) that was produced by the volcanic lightning and observed from space by the Fermi Gamma‐ray Burst Monitor (GBM). Observations by radio lightning networks and especially by the Geostationary Lightning Mapper show that the only lightning close enough to produce a TGF detectable by Fermi GBM was from the volcano's plume. With the observing duration of Fermi, observing a single TGF is consistent with the hypothesis that the volcanic lightning of this eruption produced TGFs at the average rate of thunderstorm lightning. The observation of a strong TGF from space also indicates that the electric field was oriented so as to accelerate electrons upward.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099660terrestrial gamma‐ray flasheslightningTGFHunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai |
| spellingShingle | M. S. Briggs S. Lesage C. Schultz B. Mailyan R. H. Holzworth A Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash From the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption Geophysical Research Letters terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes lightning TGF Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai |
| title | A Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash From the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption |
| title_full | A Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash From the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption |
| title_fullStr | A Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash From the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash From the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption |
| title_short | A Terrestrial Gamma‐Ray Flash From the 2022 Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption |
| title_sort | terrestrial gamma ray flash from the 2022 hunga tonga hunga ha apai volcanic eruption |
| topic | terrestrial gamma‐ray flashes lightning TGF Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099660 |
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