Sign In
Learn bits
World Affairs
Mahesh

22/11/22 06:17 AM IST

Volcanic Eruption in Tonga

In News 
  • Recently, a volcano erupted in the southern Pacific Island of Tonga, which triggered Tsunami waves around the Pacific.
  • The Tonga Islands occur along the Ring of Fire—a perimeter of heightened volcanic and seismic activity that encircles the Pacific Ocean basin.
Key Details 
  • It is an Undersea Volcanic Eruption consisting of two small uninhabited islands, Hunga-Ha’apai and Hunga-Tonga.
  • The Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano has erupted regularly over the past few decades.
  • During events in 2009 and 2014/15, hot jets of magma and steam exploded through the waves. But these eruptions were small, dwarfed in scale by the January 2022 events.
  • This is one of the massive explosions the volcano is capable of producing roughly every thousand years.
  • One of the reasons for it being highly explosive is the Fuel-Coolant interaction.
Volcano
  • A volcano is an opening or rupture in the earth’s surface that allows magma - which comes out as hot liquid and semi-liquid rock - volcanic ash and gases to escape.
  • The volcanic hotspots are places which are found where Earth’s tectonic plates come together.
  • A volcanic eruption is when lava and gas are released from a volcano - sometimes explosively.
Undersea Volcano
  • The undersea volcanic eruption happens in a volcano which is located under the ocean surface. There are an estimated one million undersea volcanoes, and most of them are located near the tectonic plates.
  • Apart from lava, these openings also spew out ash. These deposit on the ocean’s floor and lead to the formation of sea mounds - underwater mountains that are formed on the ocean floor but do not reach the water surface.
Source- The Hindu 

More Related Current Affairs View All

20 Feb

The Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999

'Investors who were defrauded in the Torres Ponzi scam may receive about Rs 40 crore over the next six months.' The Mumbai Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has begun

Read More

18 Feb

Aravali safari park project

'The Haryana government’s ambitious 3,858 hectare Aravali safari park project spread across Gurugram and Nuh — which was one of the poll promises of the ruling Bharatiy

Read More

17 Feb

President’s rule function

'Recently,  four days after Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh’s resignation, the Union government announced that President’s rule has been implemented in the v

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps