Researchers Discover Antarctic Ice Tongue Calving Triggered by Tonga Volcanic Tsunami

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Researchers from the School of Geospatial Engineering and Science in Sun Yat-sen University have disclosed that a tsunami triggered by last year's Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption caused the calving of the Drygalski ice tongue front in the South Pole, according to a recent research article published in the journal Science Bulletin.

Researchers from the School of Geospatial Engineering and Science in Sun Yat-sen University have disclosed that a tsunami triggered by last year's Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption caused the calving of the Drygalski ice tongue front in the South Pole, according to a recent research article published in the journal Science Bulletin.

The powerful explosion occurred on Jan. 15 of 2022 and then the volcano-triggered tsunami travelled over 6,000 km before hitting the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica, said the article.

Less than two hours after the tsunami arrived, a crack appeared in the front of the ice tongue. A subsequent remote sensing image showed that an iceberg measuring about 45 square kilometers had apparently broken off from the front of the tongue.

Read more at Sun Yat-sen University

Photo Credit: Japan Meteorological Agency/NASA SPoRT via Wikimedia Commons