New Island forms in Tonga (Updated)

Complete transcript available. || When the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted on Jan. 15, it sent a tsunami racing around the world and set off a sonic boom that circled the globe twice. The underwater eruption in the South Pacific Ocean also blasted an enormous plume of water vapor into Earth’s stratosphere – enough to fill more than 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools. The sheer amount of water vapor could be enough to temporarily affect Earth’s global average temperature. So outside of its sheer magnitude, what makes this eruption so unique? Well, it’s really a matter of our ability to see it through NASA and ESA satellites.

This visualization shows the two original islands in Tonga, Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha s newest island and how it could reveal new information about the presence of water on Mars: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/2017GL076621 || This visualization portrays a slow flyover of the Martian landscape.This video is also available on our YouTube channel. || This visualization is similar to the one above except that artificial water has been added to show how water may have eroded landforms on Mars during epochs when persistent surface water was present.Coming soon to our YouTube channel. || This visualization shows the location of the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific.

This scientific data visualization shows the evolution of the newly-erupted island in the Kingdom of Tonga. Results of this study can enhance our understanding of numerous small volcanic landforms on Mars whose formation may have been in shallow-water environments during epochs when persistent surface water was present.Learn more about the evolution of Earth Concerning Nymphs by Hammond Roberts

A young volcanic island on Earth may hold clues to former islands on Mars. || Learn how a new Tongan island may hold clues to similar volcanic formations on Mars. || Watch the evolution of the new island over the first three years of its life. || The Tongan island has a round shape in the first clear satellite image after it formed, taken January 19, 2015. || Digital elevation map made from satellite data shows the island on April 21, 2015. || Digital elevation map made from satellite data shows the island on September 19, 2017. || This digital elevation map of a Mars volcano has similarities to the Tongan island that suggest similar processes may have shaped it. || The Tongan island has a crater lake at its center. || The composition of the tephra cliffs that make up the core of the island may explain how the island resists erosion.

Music: Fountain by Mailcoat Sheppard; Data Visions by Pike; Guilty Curiosity by Brice Davoli; Concerning Nymphs by Hammond Roberts. Complete transcript available. || In late December 2014, a submarine volcano in the South Pacific Kingdom of Tonga erupted, sending a violent stream of steam, ash and rock into the air. The ash plumes rose as high as 30,000 feet (9 kilometers) into the sky, diverting flights. When the ash finally settled in January 2015, a newborn island with a 400-foot (120-meter) summit nestled between two older islands – visible to satellites in space. The newly formed Tongan island, unofficially known as Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha s topography in detail that complements the optical sensors, Nov. 24, 2017.Credit: ©MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates LTD. (2017) || Digital elevation model derived from stereo views of a Martian volcano from the HiRISE instrument aboard Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.Credit: NASA/JPL/U. Arizona || High-resolution satellite image of the Tongan island right after it formed, Jan. 19, 2015.Credit: Pleiades-1A ©2015 CNES Distribution Airbus DS || Digital elevation model derived from stereo satellite images shows the topography of Surtsey, Iceland, formed in 1963 (left) and the new Tongan island (right). Credit: NASA || Tephra surface of the Tongan island, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || View of crater lake from the summit rim, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || Tephra cliffs compose the interior crater wall, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || Tephra cliffs compose the interior crater wall, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || Tephra surface of the Tongan island, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || View of crater lake from the summit rim, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || View of crater lake from the summit rim, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || Sediment from the eroded cliffs form a beach around the crater lake, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || Tephra cliffs compose the interior crater wall. A sandbar on the southern side of the island walls off the crater lake from the ocean, June 4-5, 2017.Credit: NASA/Damien Grouille/Cecile Sabau || Digital elevation model derived from stereo satellite images shows the topography of the new island. Left: Apr. 21, 2015. Right: Sept. 19, 2017.Credit: NASA || High-resolution satellite image of the Tongan island at 31 months Sept. 19, 2017.Credit: ©2017 DigitalGlobe