More Phenomena

MORE PHENOMENA

Many examples of lightning storms are currently observed during volcanic eruptions.

Volcanic lightning has been documented over the last decades, with about 35% of volcanic eruptions having been accompanied by lightning, more commonly during night-time hours. Multiparametric monitoring has suggested that electrical discharges at explosive eruptions result from the complex charge distribution within the developing plume whereas recent Taal volcanic eruptions have been characterized by high discharge activity. The Hunga Tonga initial eruption on January 13, 2022, caused a major lightning event that lasted a day, and on January 15 the exceptional number of almost 400,000 strikes were recorded in six hours that evening.

Earthquake lights (EQL)

The first collection of EQL data was compiled in Italy in the early 20th century by the religious naturalist Ignazio Galli; it contained one of the first ordering of historical phenomena based on the shapes and time evolutions. Recently, it was shown that the vast majority of EQL have been observed in the following three tectonic environments: (1) intraplate rifts or grabens; (2) back-arc or pull-apart rifts or grabens located inland from subduction zones; and (3) strike-slip or transform faults, irrespective of the tectonic setting. Several photos are provided below:

Mount Kimyo, Japan, September 25, 1966, photo taken during the Matsushiro earthquake swarm

in 1966. This luminosity lasted 96 seconds. - T. Kuribayashi -

The reddish sky during the Matsushiro earthquake in 1966. - T. Kuribayashi -

Streaks of lights near Brasov, Romania, one of the five photos that were taken on March 23 after

the Varacea earthquake, M = 7.2, occurred on 4 March 1977. - Mihai Danciu -

Reddish diffused light photos from Poggio Picenze towards LìAquila few hours prior the L'Aquila

mainshock in 2009. - Lucia Miconi -

A bright sphere was photographed in daylight, months before the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, Italy.

- Bruno Chiarelli -

Several videos were captured in recent years: