Tonga’s massive underwater volcanic eruption could deliver long-lasting damage to coral reefs, erode coastlines and disrupt fisheries, say scientists studying satellite images and looking to the past to project the future of the remote region. Let us take a look at some of the images related to the massive eruption and huge damage:
ACID RAIN
Since the initial eruption, the volcano has been releasing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide — two gases that create acid rain when they interact with water and oxygen in the atmosphere. With Tonga’s tropical climate, “there is likely to be acid rain around Tonga for a while to come,” said volcanologist Shane Cronin at the University of Auckland.
Acid rain causes widespread crop damage, and could ruin Tongan staples like taro, corn, bananas and garden vegetables. (Reuters Photo)
FISH DIE-OFFS
Tonga’s exclusive economic zone of nearly 700,000 marine square kilometres (270,271 square miles) is 1,000 times larger than its land area. And most Tongans get their food — and livelihood — from the ocean. While scientists have yet to investigate on the ground, “the few pictures that are available seem to show a blanket … of ash” on land, said Marco Brenna, a geologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand. In the ocean, that ash can be harmful to marine life. Weeks before Saturday’s eruption, Tonga Geological Services had warned that nearby seawater was contaminated with toxic volcanic discharge, and that fishermen should “assume fish in these waters are poisoned or poisonous.” (Reuters Photo)
SMOTHERED CORALS
Falling ash can also smother coral reefs, which in Tonga are the mainstay of a tourism industry that brought in up to $5 million per year before the coronavirus pandemic. Even before the eruption, Tonga’s reefs were threatened by disease outbreaks and the effects of climate change including coral bleaching and increasingly strong cyclones. (AP Photo)
ERODED COASTLINES
A loss of coral reefs would also affect Tonga’s ability to cope with rising waters and storm surges. This is a concern for Tonga, where climate change is driving the sea level to rise by about 6 millimeters (0.2 inches) per year — double the global average. (AP Photo)
