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April 30, 2025 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlightedthe following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: fact-checked peer-reviewed publication trusted source proofread by University of Auckland Volcanoes erupting underwater have a distinctive effect on the climate that is larger and more widespread than previously thought, according to an international group led by University of Auckland and Tongan scientists. Research on Tonga's devastating 2022 Hunga eruption has just been published in the journal Nature Geoscience .
"Submarine volcanism has previously been overlooked in global climate studies, because there is typically not much atmospheric sulfur dioxide released," says Professor Shane Cronin, a co-lead author of the study with postdoctoral fellow Dr. Jie Wu. However, while sulfur dioxide can lead to significant climate effects, so too can water vapor.
At its peak, Hunga's eruption injected up to 3 billion tons of steam into the atmosphere in a single hour, with the water vapor reaching the stratosphere and even the mesosphere more than 57 km up, Cronin says. "The eruption has been shown by several recently published studies to have cooled the Southern Hemisphere and caused a range of other atmospheric and climate impacts that we are still discovering," he adds. Hunga had the potential for a global impact from sulfur dioxide.
The team estimates 20 million tons of it was released during the eruption, however, most of the sulfur went directly into seawater at depths between 300 m and 1,100 m. Cronin is at the School of Environment at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, while Wu is now based at the University of Otago. University of Auckland staff and students have been working with Tongan partners to understand the wider implications of submarine volcanism in the southwestern Pacific in the aftermath of Hunga, the largest eruption witnessed in the modern era.
"We are striving to understand the broader hazards of submarine volcanism, including tsunami and damage to shorelines and internet data cables as well as how these eruptions affect our environment and climate," says Cronin. More information: Jie Wu et al, Low sulfur emissions from 2022 Hunga eruption due to seawater–magma interactions, Nature Geoscience (2025). DOI: 10.
1038/s41561-025-01691-7 Journal information: Nature Geoscience Provided by University of Auckland.
