Eruption at submarine Home Reef volcano, Tonga

Sentinel-2 satellite images acquired on December 7 show a strong thermal anomaly at Home Reef volcano in Tonga, indicating fresh lava flows along the northern and western slopes of the volcano. This marks the second eruptive phase at Home Reef this year.

The eruption on December 7 produced an ash plume extending over 8 km (5 miles).

The last eruption at this volcano took place from June 10 to July 4, 2024. Strong thermal anomalies were reported on June 14, 20, 25 and 30, followed by weaker irregular hotspots (lava flows) on July 5 and visible but almost gone on July 10, 15, 20 and 30. Same as on August 8 and 19.

Home Reef’s eruptions are characterized by lava flows, thermal activity, and the formation of ephemeral islands.

A more significant eruption with a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) of 2 was registered from September 10 and October 17, 2022. This event formed a temporary island and produced dacitic pumice rafts that drifted across the Pacific, reaching as far as Australia.

In August 2006, another VEI 2 eruption created pumice rafts and a temporary island. In March 1984, a VEI 3 explosive eruption also resulted in the formation of a 500 m by 1 500 m (1 600 feet by 4 900 feet) island with cliffs ranging from 30 to 50 m (100 to 160 feet) in height.

The main emissions of Home Reef include the August 2006 event which released 25 kilotons of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) into the atmosphere at an altitude of 10 km (6 miles), confirmed by Aura OMI satellite data.

The volcano is located between Metis Shoal and Late Island in the central Tonga Islands, approximately 30 km (19 miles) from the nearest populated area. About 21 330 people reside within 100 km (62 miles).

It resides along the Tofua Volcanic Arc, a subduction zone characterized by oceanic crust less than 15 km (9 miles) thick.

References:

¹ Home Reef – GVP – December 9, 2024

Rishika Yadav

Rishika holds a Master’s in International Studies from Stella Maris College, Chennai, India, where she earned a gold medal, and an MCA from the University of Mysore, Karnataka, India. Previously, she served as a Research Assistant at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, India. During her tenure, she contributed as a Junior Writer for Europe Monitor on the Global Politics website and as an Assistant Editor for The World This Week. Her work has also been published in The Hindu newspaper, showing her expertise in global affairs. Rishika is also a recipient of the Women Empowerment Award at the district level in Haryana, India, in 2022.

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