Volcanic eruptions

The Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HT-HH) volcano was like a massive shotgun blast from the deep, generating the biggest atmospheric explosion recorded on Earth in more than 100 years.

A new study has comprehensively mapped the immediate after effects of the January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga - Hunga Ha’apai, highlighting the risks of similar events.

The 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption triggered the fastest underwater flow ever recorded.

Prior to 15 January, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a little-known undersea South Pacific volcano with a long name. Within 24 hours, it  was a global phenomenon – the site of the largest atmospheric explosion in almost 150 years. Jessica Rowley looks at why a remote Tongan volcano took the world by storm.

A New Zealand-led team has completed the fullest investigation to date into January’s eruption of the underwater Tongan volcano.

Experts are warning Kiwis to be extra cautious this summer, with ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels averaging higher compared to 2021.

Smoke from the devastating Australian wildfires impacted the atmosphere in a way that’s never been seen before.

The Tongan volcanic eruption may be responsible for New Zealand’s unusually vibrant sunrises and sunsets, say NIWA scientists.

Stacy Mohan looks at how the shockwaves from a remote Tongan island rippled through NIWA’s research community.

New findings from the record-breaking Tongan volcanic eruption are “surprising and unexpected”, say scientists from New Zealand’s National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

Our team onboard RV Tangaroa are equipped with all the tech and tools they need to explore the undersea changes caused by the devastating volcanic eruption in Tonga earlier this year.

The January eruption of the Tongan volcano Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai triggered tsunamis as far away as the Caribbean. NIWA scientists are onboard RV Tangaroa surveying the ocean around the volcano, working to understand the largest eruption of its kind since 1981 so they can help increase our knowledge about similar volcanoes around the world.