Recently, the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech), the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SCSIO, CAS), and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) organized a joint academic seminar.

The seminar, entitled “A Joint Seminar on 2022 Hunga Tonga Volcanic Eruption and Tsunami”, was held online.

Chair Professor Yongshun CHEN, Head of the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering (OSE), Chair Professor Xiaofei CHEN, Head of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences (ESS) and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Jian LIN, Chair Professor of the Department of Ocean Science and Engineering (OSE), experts and scholars also participated in the event.

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted violently on 15 January 2022, causing a tsunami across the Pacific Ocean. The seminar explored the causes and lessons from this event and the direct impact on the atmosphere-ionosphere. It focused on the frontier scientific issues arising from the sudden disaster of the Hunga Tonga volcanic eruption and tsunami and the enlightenment for disaster prevention and mitigation, highlighting interdisciplinary research.

This meeting opened up a new path for strengthening international cooperation, cultivating young scientists with a global vision and engaging in cutting-edge scientific research, and jointly tackling major problems faced by all humanity by coming up with solutions and preventive measures to tackle these disasters.