Report on Home Reef (Tonga) — 12 October-18 October 2022
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 12 October-18 October 2022
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2022. Report on Home Reef (Tonga) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 12 October-18 October 2022. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Home Reef
Tonga
18.992°S, 174.775°W; summit elev. -10 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
The Tonga Geological Services reported that the last eruptive event at Home Reef occurred at 0209 on 13 October, based on satellite images processed by VOLCAT (Volcanic Cloud Analysis Toolkit) software. A thermal anomaly was identified in satellite images at 0146 on 17 October. The Aviation Color Code remained at Yellow and mariners were advised to stay 4 km away from the volcano.
Geological Summary. Home Reef, a submarine volcano midway between Metis Shoal and Late Island in the central Tonga islands, was first reported active in the mid-19th century, when an ephemeral island formed. An eruption in 1984 produced a 12-km-high eruption plume, large amounts of floating pumice, and an ephemeral 500 x 1,500 m island, with cliffs 30-50 m high that enclosed a water-filled crater. In 2006 an island-forming eruption produced widespread dacitic pumice rafts that drifted as far as Australia. Another island was built during a September-October 2022 eruption.
