The Science Behind the Tonga Volcanic Eruption, Tsunami

Jan Yang:

Judy, scientists say the blast has revealed some of the mysteries of underwater volcanoes. It caused a tsunami that was felt off the coasts of Japan and the United States 5,000 miles away and triggered an oil spill in Peru. It unleashed a thunderstorm that lasted seven hours and had 400,000 beats. It could be heard as far away as Alaska.

But for all the ways it made itself felt around the world, its damage was relatively limited. Tonga bore the brunt of the volcano’s fury, covered in ash that is now contaminating its water supply.

Michael Poland is a research geophysicist at the US Geological Survey’s Cascades Volcano Observatory in Vancouver, Washington.

Mr Poland, thank you for joining us. As we’re talking about it, it was so dramatic, that event, that huge cloud that was visible from space, the tsunami, the atmospheric shock wave that went around the globe, but you say the data actually showed that was a relatively small eruption.

explain that.