The eruption of the Tonga-Hunga volcano resulted in the largest underwater explosion ever recorded

The eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano produced the largest underwater explosion ever recorded by modern scientific instruments, blasting an enormous amount of water and volcanic gases higher than any other eruption in the satellite era. Two research papers have now detailed how that water vapor rapidly affected the Earth’s stratosphere between 10 and 31 miles above the surface, causing an unexpectedly large loss of ozone and an unexpectedly rapid formation of aerosols.