<p>Yes, if you include low frequency pressure changes as would be recorded on a barometer as sound waves.</p>
<p>The 2022 <a href="https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=243040" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Hunga Tonga</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2022_Hunga_Tonga_eruption_and_tsunami&amp;oldid=1067233501" rel="nofollow noreferrer">eruption</a> sent atmospheric pressure waves that were detected multiple times around the Earth.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?doi=GVP.WVAR20220112-243040" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Global Volcanism Program</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The sonic boom from this wave was heard at great distances, including
in Fiji (about 500 km NW), within about two hours in New Zealand
(1,600-2,000 km), and within about nine hours in Alaska, USA (9,370 km
NE). The pressure wave was also recorded by infrasound and weather
instruments worldwide as it circled the Earth, with instruments
picking up the wave a second time as it arrived from the opposite
direction.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>In a tweet sent by <a href="https://archive.md/rhT3W" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Michael Bunds</a> you can see in the pressure each time the shock wave passed the weather station in Utah:
<a href="https://i.sstatic.net/1JsX3.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/1JsX3.jpg" alt="Air Pressure at UVU and Passage of Hunga Tonga Eruption Shockwave" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-05-28T23:56:25.897Z
slightly related and currently unanswered [Was the "'Bama Boom" even recorded by infrasound or by seismic detectors?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/12749/6031)
uhoh
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-22T13:35:34.760Z
2022-01-22T13:35:34.760Z
GrapefruitIsAwesome
<p>Do sound waves from volcanic eruptions travel around the world? I recently read about the Krakatoa eruption and how sound waves from that eruption traveled around the globe 4 times and were detected by weather stations through pressure spikes in barometers (<a href="http://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-times" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The Sound So Loud That It Circled the Earth Four Times</a>). What I'm curious about is whether this has ever been documented in other volcanic eruptions?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-20T02:17:43.960Z
May be useful: [The eruption near Tonga was so powerful you could hear it in Alaska](https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/01/17/the-eruption-near-tonga-was-so-powerful-you-could-hear-it-in-alaska/).  I'm still looking for a good reference to the multiple times around the Earth pressure wave (infrasound) measurements.
GrapefruitIsAwesome
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-01-22T17:03:29.130Z
[2022 Tonga volcanic eruption](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-22/satellite-data-images-reveal-power-of-tonga-volcano-eruption/100773458).
Fred
<volcanology><waves><barometric-pressure><air>
Do sound waves from volcanic eruptions travel around the world?
Sir Spam
# Do sound waves from volcanic eruptions travel around the world?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-01-06)

Do sound waves from volcanic eruptions travel around the world? I recently read about the Krakatoa eruption and how sound waves from that eruption traveled around the globe 4 times and were detected by weather stations through pressure spikes in barometers ([The Sound So Loud That It Circled the Earth Four Times](http://nautil.us/blog/the-sound-so-loud-that-it-circled-the-earth-four-times)). What I'm curious about is whether this has ever been documented in other volcanic eruptions?

**Tags:** volcanology, waves, barometric-pressure, air

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: May be useful: [The eruption near Tonga was so powerful you could hear it in Alaska](https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/01/17/the-eruption-near-tonga-was-so-powerful-you-could-hear-it-in-alaska/).  I'm still looking for a good reference to the multiple times around the Earth pressure wave (infrasound) measurements.  
> **username_2**: [2022 Tonga volcanic eruption](https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-22/satellite-data-images-reveal-power-of-tonga-volcano-eruption/100773458).  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2022-01-22. Score: 4

Yes, if you include low frequency pressure changes as would be recorded on a barometer as sound waves.

The 2022 [Hunga Tonga](https://volcano.si.edu/volcano.cfm?vn=243040) [eruption](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2022_Hunga_Tonga_eruption_and_tsunami&oldid=1067233501) sent atmospheric pressure waves that were detected multiple times around the Earth.

According to the [Global Volcanism Program](https://volcano.si.edu/showreport.cfm?doi=GVP.WVAR20220112-243040):

> The sonic boom from this wave was heard at great distances, including
> in Fiji (about 500 km NW), within about two hours in New Zealand
> (1,600-2,000 km), and within about nine hours in Alaska, USA (9,370 km
> NE). The pressure wave was also recorded by infrasound and weather
> instruments worldwide as it circled the Earth, with instruments
> picking up the wave a second time as it arrived from the opposite
> direction.

In a tweet sent by [Michael Bunds](https://archive.md/rhT3W) you can see in the pressure each time the shock wave passed the weather station in Utah:
[![Air Pressure at UVU and Passage of Hunga Tonga Eruption Shockwave](https://i.sstatic.net/1JsX3.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/1JsX3.jpg)

> **Comments:**
> **username_3**: slightly related and currently unanswered [Was the "'Bama Boom" even recorded by infrasound or by seismic detectors?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/q/12749/6031)  

---

