Doom Plume

The largest volcanic debris plume ever recorded was produced by the January 15, 2022, eruption of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Haʻapai volcano in the South Pacific, which blasted ash, gas, and water vapor to an unprecedented height of 57 kilometers (35 miles) into the mesosphere—higher than any eruption observed in the satellite era.

This ultraplume was so massive that it injected an estimated 146 teragrams of water vapor into the stratosphere, altering global atmospheric chemistry and temporarily affecting weather patterns.

Logistically, the plume’s monitoring involved a coordinated network of geostationary satellites, ground-based infrasound sensors, and shipborne observations, as the eruption severed undersea communication cables and isolated Tonga for days.

The event generated a shockwave that circled the Earth multiple times, and debris dispersal modeling had to account for cross-hemispheric atmospheric transport, posing challenges for aviation routing, climate forecasting, and regional disaster response.