CANBERRA, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — Life is gradually returning to the seafloor around Tonga’s Hunga Volcano, over three years after its massive 2022 eruption, research shows.
Microbial and small marine species are recolonizing the volcanic mud and ash that blanketed the area, signaling slow but ongoing ecosystem recovery, according to a statement released Tuesday by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia’s national science agency.
An international science team led by Australia’s University of Tasmania aboard CSIRO research vessel Investigator has recorded early signs of recovery in the seafloor once covered by fine volcanic ash that acts more like a “mud soup” than solid sediment, it said.
Video surveys and sediment samples show that while much of the seabed remains a barren plain, scattered boulders ejected during the eruption are acting as refuges for recolonization.
Tiny marine life such as bryozoans, hydroids, shrimp and sea cucumbers are beginning to establish themselves on these hard surfaces, forming small reef-like habitats, the statement said.
In the soft mud, scientists also found microscopic pioneers, including foraminifera, single-celled organisms that thrive in unstable seabed conditions.
Researchers said the findings will help Tonga and other Pacific nations understand how marine ecosystems recover from the strongest volcanic event globally in a century. The data is also vital for assessing ongoing geological hazards.
The January 2022 eruption of Tonga’s Hunga Volcano produced an ash column reaching 58 km, triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami and atmospheric shockwaves, disrupted fisheries, and reshaped the seafloor. Scientists say recovery will take many years. ■