Tongan volcanic eruption induced global-scale thermospheric changes observed by the GOLD mission

Tropospheric satellite images show that the eruption generated pressure waves that traveled globally. The Global Observation of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission observed significant wave-like thermospheric temperature perturbations (>100 K) from 12 to 16 UT.

These temperature perturbations' spatial curvatures and arrival times are initially similar to the tropospheric wave-fronts but differ significantly with eastward propagation. The perturbations had a phase speed of similar to 300-400 m/s and wavelengths greater than 2,400 km. Near-concurrent Ionospheric Connection Explorer neutral wind measurements suggest that the eruption's effects reversed the direction of the prevailing thermospheric zonal winds around the perturbed regions.