The 15 January 2022 climactic eruption of Hunga volcano, Tonga, produced an explosion in the atmosphere of a size that has not been documented in the modern geophysical record. The event generated a broad range of atmospheric waves observed globally by various ground-based and spaceborne instrumentation networks. Most prominent is the surface-guided Lamb wave ( ≲ 0.01 Hz), which we observed propagating for four (+three antipodal) passages around the Earth over six days. Based on Lamb wave amplitudes, the climactic Hunga explosion was comparable in size to that of the 1883 Krakatau eruption. The Hunga eruption produced remarkable globally-detected infrasound (0.01–20 Hz), long-range (~10,000 km) audible sound, and ionospheric perturbations. Seismometers worldwide recorded pure seismic and air-to-ground coupled waves. Air-to-sea coupling likely contributed to fast-arriving tsunamis. We highlight exceptional observations of the atmospheric waves.

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Abstract-On September 15th, 2007, around 11:45 local time in Peru, near the Bolivian border, the atmospheric entry of a meteoroid produced bright lights in the sky and intense detonations. Soon after, a crater was discovered south of Lake Titicaca. These events have been detected by the Bolivian seismic network and two infrasound arrays operating for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, situated at about 80 and 1620 km from the crater. The localization and origin time computed with the seismic records are consistent with the reported impact. The entry elevation and azimuthal angles of the trajectory are estimated from the observed signal time sequences and backazimuths. From the crater diameter and the airwave amplitudes, the kinetic energy, mass and explosive energy are calculated. Using the estimated velocity of the meteoroid and similarity criteria between orbital elements, an association with possible parent asteroids is attempted. The favorable setting of this event provides a unique opportunity to evaluate physical and kinematic parameters of the object that generated the first actual terrestrial meteorite impact seismically recorded.

The two major explosive phases of the 22–23 April 2015 eruption of Calbuco volcano, Chile, produced powerful seismicity and infrasound. The eruption was recorded on seismo‐acoustic stations out to 1,540 km and on five stations (IS02, IS08, IS09, IS27, and IS49) of the International Monitoring System (IMS) infrasound network at distances from 1,525 to 5,122 km. The remote IMS infrasound stations provide an accurate explosion chronology consistent with the regional and local seismo‐acoustic data and with previous studies of lightning and plume observations. We use the IMS network to detect and locate the eruption signals using a brute‐force, grid‐search, cross‐bearings approach. After incorporating azimuth deviation corrections from stratospheric crosswinds using 3‐D ray tracing, the estimated source location is 172 km from true. This case study highlights the significant capability of the IMS infrasound network to provide automated detection, characterization, and timing estimates of global explosive volcanic activity. Augmenting the IMS with regional seismo‐acoustic networks will dramatically enhance volcanic signal detection, reduce latency, and improve discrimination capability.

On June 23, 2001, a strong earthquake measuring Mw 8.4 occurred along the coast of south‐central Peru. Coherent infrasonic waves were detected over a period of one hour by the IS08 infrasound station in Bolivia. Analysis of the ground‐coupled air waves shows that the rupture propagated from the northwestern to the southeastern part of the fault with a rupture velocity of 3.3 km/s. The azimuth variation of the infrasonic waves is attributed to a distribution of secondary sources along the highest mountain ranges, which excite infrasonic waves that are diffracted to the ground. The predominant source of infrasound is likely distributed along the Andean Cordillera. Using the azimuth and arrival time determination, the horizontal scale size of the distant source regions of infrasonic waves is reconstructed over distances greater than 400 km.

On November 14, 2001, a strong earthquake occurred on the high plateau of western China. At a distance of 1800 km from the epicenter, coherent infrasonic waves were detected for more than one hour. Using both an inverse location procedure and a complete simulation of the radiated pressure field, distant source regions are accurately located. The seismo‐acoustic coupling along a mountain belt is clearly demonstrated. Such an event offers an opportunity to validate velocity models in the atmosphere as well as to improve the understanding of the amplification of ground displacement caused by the topography.

This paper reviews recent progress toward understanding the dynamics of the middle atmosphere in the framework of the Atmospheric Dynamics Research InfraStructure in Europe (ARISE) initiative. The middle atmosphere, integrating the stratosphere and mesosphere, is a crucial region which influences tropospheric weather and climate. Enhancing the understanding of middle atmosphere dynamics requires improved measurement of the propagation and breaking of planetary and gravity waves originating in the lowest levels of the atmosphere. Inter-comparison studies have shown large discrepancies between observations and models, especially during unresolved disturbances such as sudden stratospheric warmings for which model accuracy is poorer due to a lack of observational constraints. Correctly predicting the variability of the middle atmosphere can lead to improvements in tropospheric weather forecasts on timescales of weeks to season. The ARISE project integrates different station networks providing observations from ground to the lower thermosphere, including the infrasound system developed for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty verification, the Lidar Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change, complementary meteor radars, wind radiometers, ionospheric sounders and satellites. This paper presents several examples which show how multi-instrument observations can provide a better description of the vertical dynamics structure of the middle atmosphere, especially during large disturbances such as gravity waves activity and stratospheric warming events. The paper then demonstrates the interest of ARISE data in data assimilation for weather forecasting and re-analyzes the determination of dynamics evolution with climate change and the monitoring of atmospheric extreme events which have an atmospheric signature, such as thunderstorms or volcanic eruptions.

The ability of the International Monitoring System (IMS) global infrasound network to detect atmospheric explosions and other events of interest depends strongly on station-specific ambient incoherent noise and clutter (real but unwanted infrasound waves, coherent on an infrasound array). Characterization of coherent infrasound is important for quantifying the recording environment at each station and for assessing the detection probability of specific signals of interest. We systematically characterize coherent infrasound recorded by the IMS network over 10 years on 41 stations over a broad frequency range (0.01-5 Hz). This multiyear processing emphasizes continuous signals such as mountain associated waves and microbaroms, as well as persistent transient signals such as repetitive volcanic, surf, thunder, or anthropogenic activity. We estimate the primary source regions of continuous coherent infrasound using a global cross-bearings approach. For most IMS arrays, the detection of persistent sources is controlled by the dynamics of the stratospheric wind circulation from daily to seasonal scales. Systematic and continuous characterization of multiyear array detections helps to refine knowledge of the source of ambient ocean noise and provides additional constraints on the dynamics of the middle atmosphere where data coverage is sparse.