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3 min read<\/p>\n3 min read<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s what you\u2019ll learn when you read this story:<\/p>\n
On January 15, 2022, after weeks of rumblings, the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u02bbapai in the South Pacific blew its top. The massive eruption\u2014the largest and highest underwater eruption<\/a> ever recorded by modern instruments, and the first to ever reach the mesosphere<\/a>\u2014could be heard 1,200 miles away in New Zealand and sent ash a stunning 40 miles (65 kilometers) into the air. In many, many ways, the eruption of Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u02bbapai was extraordinary.<\/p>\n Now, more than four years after that impressive volcanic display, a new study in the journal Nature Communications<\/a> details a completely surprising new fact about Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u02bbapai eruption: It cleaned up after itself. Well, at least a little bit.<\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n Typically, volcanoes spill tons of methane during an eruption. The Permian-Triassic extinction, for example\u2014which decimated most life on Earth\u2014was likely the result of elevated levels of sulfur dioxide, carbon dioxide<\/a>, and methane burped up from the Siberian Traps. Methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas<\/a> (over a 20-year period), so you really don\u2019t want this stuff reaching the atmosphere.<\/p>\n But it turns out that Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u02bbapai did us a solid by cleaning up at least some of its methane emissions itself. Scientists discovered this rare example of volcanic eitquette using data gathered from the TROPOMI instrument aboard the European Space Agency\u2019s Sentinel-5P<\/a> (a satellite designed to study air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions). What they discovered is that the record-breaking plume contained incredibly high concentrations of the volatile organic compound formaldehyde\u2014a short-lived intermediary that forms when methane<\/a> is destroyed in the atmosphere.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause formaldehyde<\/a> only exists for a few hours, this showed that the cloud must have been destroying methane continuously for more than a week,\u201d Maarten van Herpen, lead author of the study, said in a press statement<\/a>. \u201cIt is known that volcanoes emit methane during eruptions, but until now it was not known that volcanic ash is also capable of partially cleaning up this pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n The engine behind this natural clean-up process is sea water, which Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u02bbapai hurled into the sky in excess during the eruption. Once in the stratosphere, this salt\u2014along with plentiful volcanic ash<\/a>\u2014interacted with sunlight, turning the mixture into highly reactive chlorine that effectively broke down methane. Scientists discovered a similar process in 2023<\/a> that showed how dust from the Sahara (once blown over the Atlantic) can, via sunlight, also create chlorine atoms that remove methane from the atmosphere.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat is new\u2014and completely surprising\u2014is that the same mechanism appears to occur in a volcanic plume high up in the stratosphere<\/a>, where the physical conditions are entirely different,\u201d Matthew Johnson, a co-author of the study from the University of Copenhagen, said in a press statement.<\/p>\n Related Story<\/p>\n During the eruption, Hunga Tonga\u2013Hunga Ha\u02bbapai emitted roughly 300 gigagrams (Gg) of methane, which the scientists estimate to be equal to the annual emissions<\/a> of roughly two million cows. Unlike cows, however, the researchers say the volcano cleaned up 900 megagrams per day. While that\u2019s roughly the equivalent of cleaning one fork after a giant Thanksgiving dinner, the natural process shows that humans might attempt to remove methane from the atmosphere using a similar method.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an obvious idea for industry to try to replicate this natural phenomenon<\/a> \u00ad\u2014 but only if it can be proven to be safe and effective,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cOur satellite method could offer a way to help figure out how humans might slow global warming.\u201d<\/p>\n Laptop Cleaner<\/p>\n Portable Jump Starter<\/p>\n Now 25% Off<\/p>\n Pocket Cleaver<\/p>\n Now 38% Off<\/p>\n RFID-Blocking Wallet<\/p>\n Best Value Water Bottle<\/p>\n![\"Chevron](\"https:\/\/www.popularmechanics.com\/_assets\/design-tokens\/fre\/static\/icons\/arrow-left-regular.dc4f48a.svg?primary=%2523D4D4D4\"){kind=icon}
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