Report on Home Reef (Tonga) — 19 October-25 October 2022
Smithsonian / US Geological Survey Weekly Volcanic Activity Report,
19 October-25 October 2022
Managing Editor: Sally Kuhn Sennert
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2022. Report on Home Reef (Tonga). In: Sennert, S K (ed.), Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 19 October-25 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 eruption at Home Reef that began on 10 September was over. Satellite-based measurements showed that the island had not changed in size since 28 September, remaining at 268 m N-S, 283 m E-W, and 15-18 m high. A thermal anomaly was last observed on 17 October. On 22 October the Aviation Color Code was lowered to Green (the lowest level on a four-color scale) and the warning to mariners was lifted, though the public was prohibited from landing on the island.
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, copious amounts of floating pumice, and an ephemeral island 500 x 1500 m wide, with cliffs 30-50 m high that enclosed a water-filled crater. Another island-forming eruption in 2006 produced widespread dacitic pumice rafts that reached as far as Australia.
