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

Zhouling Zhang (), Antao Xu, Ed Hathorne, Marcus Gutjahr, Thomas J. Browning, Kathleen J. Gosnell, Te Liu, Zvi Steiner, Rainer Kiko, Zhongwei Yuan, Haoran Liu, Eric P. Achterberg and Martin Frank
Additional contact information
Zhouling Zhang: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Antao Xu: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Ed Hathorne: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Marcus Gutjahr: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Thomas J. Browning: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Kathleen J. Gosnell: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Te Liu: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Zvi Steiner: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Rainer Kiko: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Zhongwei Yuan: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Haoran Liu: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Eric P. Achterberg: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel
Martin Frank: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-12

Abstract: 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 released up to 0.16 kt of neodymium and 32 kt of iron into the SPG, which is comparable to the annual global dust-borne Nd flux and the annual dust-borne Fe flux to the entire SPG, respectively.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-52904-3

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