Physical Mechanisms of Volcanic Earthquakes After the 2022 Hunga Eruption, Tonga
ABSTRACT The climactic eruption of the Hunga volcano in Tonga in 2022 profoundly impacted the Earth's system. Subsequent to the eruption, ongoing seismic activity in the vicinity raised concerns among local communities about volcanic hazards, highlighting gaps in understanding post‐eruption processes. Focusing on concurrent volcanic and post‐eruptive seismic events, this study analyses 11 earthquakes occurring within 3 months following the eruption using teleseismic data. Estimating magnitudes down to M W 4.5, our relocation efforts pinpoint epicentres around the Hunga volcano caldera. The earthquake depths progressively deepened over time, not exceeding 20 km beneath the seafloor. Moment tensor analyses revealed significant non‐double–couple components and predominantly vertical pressure axes, indicating reactivation of an inward‐dipping ring fault linked to the shallow magma chamber deflation. Our study demonstrates an effective approach to improving volcanic hazard assessment and early warning systems through spatiotemporal correlation between well‐constrained seismic sources and volcanic eruption onsets globally.
Authors
- Caicai Zha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8103-8427)
- Yuqi Liu
- Jian Ping Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9593-4196)
- Fan Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1608-7764)
- Xubo Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4015-9169)
- Pengcheng Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1237-3931)
- Qiang Qiu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5962-0309)
- Zihua Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8390-6195)
- Jiangyang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9098-8918)
- Bo Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5586-3186)
Institutions
- Southern University of Science and Technology (CN)
- Institute of Oceanology (CN)
- South China Sea Institute Of Oceanology (CN)
- Association for the Development of Earthquake Prediction (JP)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- The University of Tokyo (JP)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Terra Nova
- Published
- 2025-04-14
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/ter.12777
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- earthquake and tectonic studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.87
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province
- South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Guangzhou Municipal Science and Technology Project
- National Key Research and Development Program of China