James Stewart

Some are hidden beneath our feet. Others hide in plain sight. But when they make themselves known, there's nowhere to hide. The most violent volcanic eruption to occur this century was fairly recently. In January of 2022, the eruption of a submarine volcano near the main island of Tonga, about 2,000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand.

Some are hidden beneath our feet. Others hide in plain sight. But when they make themselves known, there's nowhere to hide. The most violent volcanic eruption to occur this century was fairly recently. In January of 2022, the eruption of a submarine volcano near the main island of Tonga, about 2,000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand.

Some are hidden beneath our feet. Others hide in plain sight. But when they make themselves known, there's nowhere to hide. The most violent volcanic eruption to occur this century was fairly recently. In January of 2022, the eruption of a submarine volcano near the main island of Tonga, about 2,000 kilometres northeast of New Zealand.

The eruption of Hunga Tongaunga Haapi, to give the volcano its full name, constituted an explosion far larger than that produced by any nuclear bomb. It could be heard in Alaska, nearly 10,000 kilometres away. and it generated a tsunami that was two metres high even after crossing the Pacific Ocean to Peru. The 2022 Tonga event was undoubtedly a big one.

The eruption of Hunga Tongaunga Haapi, to give the volcano its full name, constituted an explosion far larger than that produced by any nuclear bomb. It could be heard in Alaska, nearly 10,000 kilometres away. and it generated a tsunami that was two metres high even after crossing the Pacific Ocean to Peru. The 2022 Tonga event was undoubtedly a big one.

The eruption of Hunga Tongaunga Haapi, to give the volcano its full name, constituted an explosion far larger than that produced by any nuclear bomb. It could be heard in Alaska, nearly 10,000 kilometres away. and it generated a tsunami that was two metres high even after crossing the Pacific Ocean to Peru. The 2022 Tonga event was undoubtedly a big one.

But how does it compare to other volcanic eruptions? I'm James Stewart and you're watching Astrum Earth. In this video we'll look at the volcanic rating scale, ancient clues of super volcanic eruptions and potentially dangerous regions across the world. Just how worried should we be about the possibility of future eruptions that are bigger, much, much bigger than the Tonga event? Let's find out.

But how does it compare to other volcanic eruptions? I'm James Stewart and you're watching Astrum Earth. In this video we'll look at the volcanic rating scale, ancient clues of super volcanic eruptions and potentially dangerous regions across the world. Just how worried should we be about the possibility of future eruptions that are bigger, much, much bigger than the Tonga event? Let's find out.

But how does it compare to other volcanic eruptions? I'm James Stewart and you're watching Astrum Earth. In this video we'll look at the volcanic rating scale, ancient clues of super volcanic eruptions and potentially dangerous regions across the world. Just how worried should we be about the possibility of future eruptions that are bigger, much, much bigger than the Tonga event? Let's find out.

Geologists quantify the violence of a volcanic eruption using a scale called the Volcanic Explosivity Index . Although a given eruption can be assigned a single score on this scale, exactly what score is awarded depends on a combination of factors, such as the volume of rock ejected by the eruption, the height reached by the volcano's ash cloud , as well as some more qualitative descriptors.

Geologists quantify the violence of a volcanic eruption using a scale called the Volcanic Explosivity Index . Although a given eruption can be assigned a single score on this scale, exactly what score is awarded depends on a combination of factors, such as the volume of rock ejected by the eruption, the height reached by the volcano's ash cloud , as well as some more qualitative descriptors.

Geologists quantify the violence of a volcanic eruption using a scale called the Volcanic Explosivity Index . Although a given eruption can be assigned a single score on this scale, exactly what score is awarded depends on a combination of factors, such as the volume of rock ejected by the eruption, the height reached by the volcano's ash cloud , as well as some more qualitative descriptors.

The VEI scale is open-ended in principle, but all known events are graded between 0 and 8. Events scoring 0 are represented by eruptions of low viscosity, or runny, lava at volcanoes such as Kilauea or Manalahu on Hawaii. Although these eruptions can involve large volumes of material and are dangerous in their own right, they are what geologists term effusive in nature.

The VEI scale is open-ended in principle, but all known events are graded between 0 and 8. Events scoring 0 are represented by eruptions of low viscosity, or runny, lava at volcanoes such as Kilauea or Manalahu on Hawaii. Although these eruptions can involve large volumes of material and are dangerous in their own right, they are what geologists term effusive in nature.

The VEI scale is open-ended in principle, but all known events are graded between 0 and 8. Events scoring 0 are represented by eruptions of low viscosity, or runny, lava at volcanoes such as Kilauea or Manalahu on Hawaii. Although these eruptions can involve large volumes of material and are dangerous in their own right, they are what geologists term effusive in nature.

This means that the lava flows rather than explodes from the volcano's vent. Go up the scale to a VEI of 2 and you reach the sort of eruption represented by the ongoing activity at Mount Etna in Sicily. Keep going, and at a VEI of 3, you get to something like the eruption of Sufriere Hills, which covered much of the Caribbean island of Montserrat with ash in 1996 and 1997.

This means that the lava flows rather than explodes from the volcano's vent. Go up the scale to a VEI of 2 and you reach the sort of eruption represented by the ongoing activity at Mount Etna in Sicily. Keep going, and at a VEI of 3, you get to something like the eruption of Sufriere Hills, which covered much of the Caribbean island of Montserrat with ash in 1996 and 1997.

This means that the lava flows rather than explodes from the volcano's vent. Go up the scale to a VEI of 2 and you reach the sort of eruption represented by the ongoing activity at Mount Etna in Sicily. Keep going, and at a VEI of 3, you get to something like the eruption of Sufriere Hills, which covered much of the Caribbean island of Montserrat with ash in 1996 and 1997.

At a VEI of 4, you reach the 2010 eruption of the Icelandic volcano whose ash clouds spread over Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, disrupting air travel for several weeks. Because many of an eruption's attributes can't be determined with certainty, there's sometimes disagreement about what score should be assigned to a given eruption.

At a VEI of 4, you reach the 2010 eruption of the Icelandic volcano whose ash clouds spread over Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, disrupting air travel for several weeks. Because many of an eruption's attributes can't be determined with certainty, there's sometimes disagreement about what score should be assigned to a given eruption.