Public talk in Carlingford on one of biggest volcanic eruptions in past century

The Geophysics section of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) are hosting a public talk this Wednesday at 8pm in Rocksalt Café in Carlingford, on the 15 January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga- Hunga Haʻapai Volcano, one of largest volcanic eruptions in the past century.

Volcanologist Professor Silvio De Angelis from the University of Liverpool will present the talk where he will delve into the geological and eruptive history of the Hunga volcano, the factors that drive terrestrial and submarine volcanism, and control its explosivity. 

The organisers will also present some unique geophysical observations associated with this extraordinary explosion and compare it to other large historical events such as the 1883 Krakatoa eruption.

This Hunga Tonga- Hunga Haʻapai eruption was one of the largest in the past century, and caused significant damage in the archipelago and generated a tsunami. The size of the eruption was unprecedented.

The event was extensively documented by digital sensor networks on the Earth's surface, as well as from space. The eruption column reached a height of 55 km; the atmospheric pressure waves associated with the explosion circled around the Earth at least six times and were recorded by thousands of instruments across the globe. 

Reserve a ticket for the public talk, which is shaping up to be a very informative event at eventbrite here.

This event is preceded by a public Volcano outreach day that DIAS will be hosting at the Foy Centre in Carlingford, running from 12:45-16:30, as part of the Improve Summer School DIAS is running in the north Louth village. 

The Geophysics section of DIAS runs the National Seismic network for Ireland with support from Geological Survey Ireland (GSI). The event, which is open to all members of the public and schools from around the area to attend, is being run by 24 international PhD volcanological students that will be attending the summer school.

The organisers say there will be fun experiments like, an erupting volcano, a real seismometer with which those who take part can see earthquakes made by them when they jump, and they can listen to an underwater volcano erupting.

DIAS is an institution that attracts scholars and academics from around the world, and is the world’s second, and Ireland’s only, Institute for Advanced Studies. 

It conducts and publishes advanced research across three disciplines: Celtic Studies, Theoretical Physics and Cosmic Physics.  DIAS also leads Ireland’s participation in a number of international research endeavours that focus on big unanswered questions for mankind.

The Geophysics Section of DIAS applies geophysical data analysis, computation and methodological developments to gain new insights into processes within the Earth system. Find out more about what they do here.