A violent volcanic eruption may have revealed a new weapon to tackle a potent planet-heating gas
Researchers say the eruption produced about 330,000 tons of methane and broke down roughly 900 tons a day, suggesting a possible climate tool.
- On Thursday, the journal Nature Communications published research revealing the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga eruption surprisingly cleaned up its own methane pollution, potentially offering a new weapon against planet-heating gases.
- The volcanic plume sent enough salty water vapor into the stratosphere to fill around 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, where sunlight triggered chlorine formation that reacted with and broke down methane emissions.
- Researchers tracking the eruption for 10 days estimated it produced around 330,000 tons of methane, with around 900 tons destroyed daily as the plume mimicked a chemical process previously identified over the Atlantic Ocean.
- Calling the discovery 'new and completely surprising,' University of Copenhagen chemistry professor Matthew Johnson suggested industry could potentially replicate this natural phenomenon to help destroy methane emissions at the source.
- Atmospheric chemist Pete Edwards at the University of York cautioned that the results remain 'very difficult' to confirm, citing significant uncertainties regarding safety and potential unintended consequences on climate and air pollution.
35 Articles
35 Articles
A 2022 volcano eruption in Pacific may have vented a new weapon to fight climate change
A 2022 volcanic eruption unexpectedly revealed a powerful methane destruction mechanism in the stratosphere. Researchers observed high formaldehyde levels, indicating accelerated methane breakdown driven by chlorine radicals. This natural experiment offers a potential satellite-based monitoring method for future methane removal technologies.
A violent volcanic eruption may have revealed a new weapon in the fight against a potent planet-heating gas
An underwater volcano violently erupted in the South Pacific in 2022. The chemical reaction that happened afterwards could show humans how to slow global warming.
Hundreds of times more powerful than the Hiroshima nuclear explosion, the eruption of the undersea Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano in the South Pacific in January 2022 sent an ash cloud nearly 40 miles (64 kilometers) above Earth’s surface but gave scientists a new weapon in the fight against a potent global warming gas, according to CNN. What was “unexpected,” according to the authors of the new study published in the journal Nature, is that …
Hungas’ deadly eruption may hold clues to reducing global warming – Kaniva Tonga News
A new scientific discovery stemming from Tonga’s massive and deadly volcanic eruption may have revealed a way to help reduce the effects of climate change. Scientists have confirmed that the eruption of Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai in January 2022 was the largest volcanic eruption ever recorded by modern instruments. Now, researchers say the eruption may have […]
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