Research Article

Multi-instrument detection in Europe of ionospheric disturbances caused by the 15 January 2022 eruption of the Hunga volcano

¹ Royal Meteorological institute of Belgium & Solar Terrestrial Centre of Excellence, Ringlaan 3, B-1180 Brussels, Belgium
² Observatori de l’Ebre, CSIC – Universitat Ramon Llull, C.\ Observatori, 3-A, 43520 Roquetes, Spain
³ Institute of Earth Physics and Space Science, Csatkai E. u. 6-8, 9400 Sopron, Hungary
⁴ National Observatory of Athens, IAASARS, Vas. Paylou & I. Metaxa, PC 152 36 Penteli, Athens, Greece
⁵ Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Bocni II 1401, 141 31 Prague, Czech Republic
⁶ Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy
⁷ Borealis Global Designs Ltd., 24 Marie Louise Blvd, Entrance A, Suite 1, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria
⁸ Space Science Laboratory, University of Massachusetts Lowell, 600 Suffolk Street, 3rd floor, Lowell, MA 01854, USA
⁹ SpacEarth Technology, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Rome, Italy
¹⁰ Leibniz-Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Schloßstraße 6, 18225 Kühlungsborn, Germany

^* Corresponding authors: tobias.verhulst@oma.be

Received: 15 March 2022
Accepted: 20 September 2022

Abstract

The 15 January 2022 eruption of the Hunga volcano provides a unique opportunity to study the reaction of the ionosphere to large explosive events. In particular, this event allows us to study the global propagation of travelling ionospheric disturbances (TIDs) using various instruments. We focus on detecting the ionospheric disturbances caused by this eruption over Europe, where dense networks of both ionosondes and GNSS receivers are available. This event took place on the day of a geomagnetic storm. We show how data from different instruments and observatories can be combined to distinguish the TIDs produced by the eruption from those caused by concurrent geomagnetic activity. The Lamb wavefront was detected as the strongest disturbance in the ionosphere, travelling between 300 and 340 m/s, consistent with the disturbances in the lower atmosphere. By comparing observations obtained from multiple types of instruments, we also show that TIDs produced by various mechanisms are present simultaneously, with different types of waves affecting different physical quantities. This illustrates the importance of analysing data from multiple independent instruments in order to obtain a full picture of an event like this one, as relying on only a single data source might result in some effects going unobserved.