Eruptive flux drives atmospheric lightning rates and submarine hydroacoustic signals during the 2021 Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba eruption

Authors

• Kathleen F. Mckee, Michigan Technological UniversityFollow
• Kristen E. Fauria, Vanderbilt University
• Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, Western Washington University
• Jelle D. Assink, Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute
• Mikkel Louis, Vanderbilt University
• Tushar Mittal, Pennsylvania State University
• Fukashi Maeno, The University of Tokyo
• Mie Ichihara, The University of Tokyo
• Dirk Metz, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization
• Chris Vagasky, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-18-2026

Department

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Abstract

The August 2021 eruption of Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba (FOB) volcano in Japan was a remarkable VEI 4 shallow submarine eruption, partly because it generated a 16-km water-rich atmospheric plume, new islands, and a large pumice raft. Recent studies provide complementary summaries of the atmospheric and oceanic surface expressions of the 2021 FOB eruption, including analyses of regional infrasound and Himawari-8 geostationary satellite data. The hydroacoustic record has also been published. Following these studies, we examine how the processes occurring beneath the sea surface correlate with the intensity of the atmospheric portion of the 2021 FOB eruption. We compare multiple data sets, specifically International Monitoring System hydroacoustic and infrasonic array data in the context of ground-based lightning observations, and plume height and width data (Himawari-8). We estimate a time-varying volumetric flow rate from plume observations and compare the resulting time series with acoustic and lightning characteristics. The infrasound data do not correlate with the other data streams due to signal loss from diurnal winds. The lightning, hydroacoustic, and volume-flux data are highly correlated, and we suggest this is because all three depend on eruption flux and intensity at the vent.

Publisher's Statement

©The Author(s) 2026. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.30909/vol/ebif5496

Publication Title

Volcanica

Recommended Citation

Mckee, K., Fauria, K., Caplan-Auerbach, J., Assink, J., Louis, M., Mittal, T., Maeno, F., Ichihara, M., Metz, D., & Vagasky, C. (2026). Eruptive flux drives atmospheric lightning rates and submarine hydroacoustic signals during the 2021 Fukutoku-Oka-no-Ba eruption. Volcanica, 9(1), 269-288. http://doi.org/10.30909/vol/ebif5496
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p2/2831

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Version

Publisher's PDF