Large-Scale Groundwater System Characterization Using Pressure Responses to Barometric Perturbations Caused by the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption

Authors

Anhua He, Jilin University
Yang Liu, Hainan Earthquake Agency
Fan Zhang, Hainan Earthquake Agency
Huamei Zhang, Hainan Earthquake Agency
Ramesh P. Singh, Chapman UniversityFollow
Yanzhang Wang, Jilin University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-28-2025

Abstract

Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic erupted on 15 January 2022, causing Lamb waves to propagate throughout the global troposphere. However, reports on volcanic eruptions–pressure fluctuations and water level dynamics are lacking. We quantified the propagation processes of Lamb waves induced by the Tonga volcanic eruption. Barometric pressure data collected at 1-min intervals at 485 meteorological stations in China showed that the eruption induced an atmospheric pressure event with an amplitude of ∼2 hPa over an hour and a wave speed of 295 m/s. Concomitant groundwater levels were available at 338 wells to find the barometric response to the volcanic event. The resulting functions were unique to each well to determine the nature of the aquifer, whether it is confined or unconfined, and the permeability of the aquifers. For confined aquifers with high permeability, there was no delay in the barometric pressure of groundwater level response as the barometric response function converged quickly, and the correlation between the Lamb wave and groundwater level was stronger; for confined aquifers with low permeability, there was a delay in the barometric pressure of the groundwater level that showed a step-change. In this case, the correlation between the Lamb wave and groundwater level was weaker. For confined aquifers with wellbore storage effects, superimposed characteristics of wellbore storage and confined aquifer properties were observed. For unconfined aquifers, the ability of the groundwater level to respond to Lamb waves was greater than the barometric response. A unified, well-aquifer model provides a theoretical explanation for the phenomena.

Comments

This article was originally published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, volume 130, issue 6, in 2025. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JB031616

Recommended Citation

He, A., Liu, Y., Zhang, F., Zhang, H., Singh, R. P., & Wang, Y. (2025). Large-scale groundwater system characterization using pressure responses to barometric perturbations caused by the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption. (6), e2025JB031616. https://doi.org/10.1029/2025JB031616

Copyright

American Geophysical Union