A satellite photo shows the eruption of the volcano on January 15
(Picture: © 2022 Planet Labs PBC. /AFP via)The UK will send a robot boat to examine the aftermath of an underwater volcanic explosion in Tonga.
The eruption of Hunga-Tonga-Hunga-Ha’apai volcano in January triggered tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean and sent a plume of ash half way to space.
A British uncrewed surface vessel, named MaxLimer, will be sent to the region to gather data to help researchers understand the explosion.
The 12m-long robot boat will spend several weeks on top of the “caldera” – the submerged opening of the underwater volcano – as part of a research project.
It will use echo sounders to determine the shape of the volcano, comparing this with previous data to identify new areas for sampling. This will later be used to assess disturbances in the marine life in the area and the chemical composition of the sea floor.
The boat was developed by British firm Sea-Kit International, who will control it remotely from more than 10,000 miles away during its journey in the Pacific.
Chief Executive Ben Simpson told New Zealand’s Scoop news website: “USV Maxlimer will be controlled from the other side of the world, at our base in the UK, as she safely gathers a range of data types from inside the caldera for a full month to develop and support understanding of the eruption’s undersea impact.”
The project is being funded by the Nippon Foundation – the largest non-profit organisation in Japan. It will be organised by New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) along with Seabed2030, a research project seeking to map the global ocean floor.
NIWA will conduct its own investigations with a crewed vessel but will not spend extended periods of time over the caldera over safety fears.
Wendy Hems, the mission lead for Seakit, told the BBC: “Other vessels taking part would struggle to get health and safety sign-off. But an uncrewed surface vessel can do ‘the dull, the dirty and the dangerous’; and this is potentially quite dangerous.
“Obviously, we don’t want to lose MaxLimer but it’s safer for people to do it this way and we’re going to get a lot of data because of it.”
The eruption of the underwater on January 15 knocked out communications for Tonga’s 105,000 people, thrusting a cloud measuring 24 miles into the atmosphere. At least three people were killed by the resulting tsunami and more injured.
