A Volcanic Seafloor Collapse Released a Massive Tsunami, and Scientists Got an Extremely Rare Look at the Submarine Devastation

A volcanic eruption in 2022, known as the 2022 Hunga volcano event, caused a massive tsunami and significant changes to the Pacific Ocean floor. The eruption, which began on December 20, 2021, and reached its climax on January 15, 2022, was the most powerful volcanic eruption of the last century. Researchers found that the caldera formed during the eruption displaced 1,500 Great Pyramids worth of material, and generated waves and underwater flows that destroyed crucial telecommunications cables. The event displaced 8.9 cubic kilometers of volcanic material and created a tsunami with waves reaching heights of 40 meters near the volcano.

The research team, from an international group of scientists, analyzed the caldera collapse and found that the eruption was extremely steep and formed rapidly, contributing to the tsunami's size. The caldera deepened from 150 meters below sea level to 850 meters. The study highlights the importance of monitoring such events and the need for more extensive and repeated high-resolution seafloor mapping to better understand and mitigate the impacts of future volcanic events. The paper, titled "Rapid Submarine Caldera Collapse During the 2022 Climactic Eruption of Hunga Volcano (Tonga)," was published in Nature Geoscience on September 11, 2026.

• The eruption occurred north of Tonga, an archipelago in the Pacific.
• The caldera formed during a rapid collapse, contributing to the tsunami's size.
• The event displaced 8.9 cubic kilometers of volcanic material.
• The caldera deepened from 150 meters below sea level to 850 meters.
• The study highlights the importance of monitoring such events and the need for more extensive and repeated high-resolution seafloor mapping.
• The paper was published in Nature Geoscience on September 11, 2026.

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