Scientists struggle to collect info from Tonga volcano after massive eruption

Scientists are struggling to monitor an active volcano that erupted off the South Pacific island of Tonga at the weekend, after the explosion destroyed its sea-level crater and drowned its mass, obscuring it from satellites.

The eruption of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai volcano, which sits on the seismically active Pacific Ring of Fire, sent tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean and was heard some 2,300 kilometres away in New Zealand.

"The concern at the moment is how little information we have and that's scary," said Janine Krippner, a New Zealand-based volcanologist with the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program.

"When the vent is below water, nothing can tell us what will happen next."

Krippner said on-site instruments were likely destroyed in the eruption and the volcanology community was pooling together the best available data and expertise to review the explosion and predict anticipated future activity.