More than eight months after the underwater volcano near Tonga erupted on Jan.
lowered global temperatures by about 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit for at least one year, Live Science previously reported.spewed by Mount PinatuboBut unlike Pinatubo , underwater Tonga's volcanic plumes sent"substantial amounts of water" into the stratosphere, the zone that extends from around 31 miles above Earth's surface down to around 4 to 12 miles , according to the National Weather Service .
In underwater volcanoes,"submarine eruptions can draw large parts of their explosive energy from the interaction of water and hot magma," which propels huge quantities of water and steam into the eruption column, scientists wrote in a new study published Sept. 22 in the journalThe researchers analyzed the amount of water in the plumes by evaluating data gathered by instruments called radiosondes, which were attached to weather balloons and sent aloft into the volcanic plumes.