Substantial trace metal input from the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption into the South Pacific.

ABSTRACT: The January 2022 eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) volcano discharged 2,900 teragrams of ejecta, most of which was deposited in the South Pacific Ocean. Here we investigate its impact on the biogeochemistry of the South Pacific Gyre (SPG) using samples collected during the GEOTRACES cruise GP21 in February-April 2022. Surface water neodymium isotopes and rare earth element compositions showed a marked volcanic impact in the western SPG, potentially extending to the eastern region. Increasing trace metal concentrations in surface waters and chlorophyll-a inventories in euphotic layers between the eastern and western SPG further suggest that the volcanic eruption supplied (micro)nutrients potentially stimulating a biological response. We estimate that the HTHH eruption release

SUBMITTER: Zhang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11487076 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature