Electromagnetic ULF/ELF oscillations caused by the eruption of the Tonga volcano

Abstract

The eruption of the Tonga volcano on January 13 and 15, 2022 and related intense lightning activity led to the excitation of a number of specific electromagnetic oscillations in different frequency ranges. We examine properties of these oscillations, using data from magnetometers of various types located in Kamchatka and in the Pacific region. We confirmed that there might have been a geomagnetic response to the formation of an acoustic resonance between the Earth surface and the ionosphere: localized harmonic oscillations with a frequency 3.5–4.0 mHz, which lasted for ~1.5 hr, were detected ~15 min after the beginning of the eruption at distance of ~800 km. An increase was observed in the intensity of the Schumann resonance at stations in the Far East. Broadband emission stimulated by intense volcanic lightning was detected to occur in the Pc1 range (2–5 Hz). The emission presumably results from the excitation of the magnetosonic waveguide in the upper ionosphere by lightning activity.

Keywords

• volcanic eruption
• atmospheric waves
• acoustic resonance
• schumann resonance
• pc1
• ionospheric waveguide