Home Reef Adds On

Home Reef, a mid-ocean volcano in the Tonga archipelago, expanded its land area during its latest eruptive phase. Volcanic activity ramped up in December 2025, the newest episode in a series of eruptions that began in 2022 and was still underway in mid-February 2026.

Satellites tracked the changes: images from December 3 and 27, 2025, and January 28, 2026, were captured with the OLI on Landsat 8 and 9. Thermal data from MODIS and VIIRS indicate the eruptive phase began on December 17, 2025, after about five months of quiet, said Simon Plank.

Lava flows first extended the island to the east and south, then to the northwest and north. Synthetic aperture radar data from DLR’s TerraSAR‑X show the island had grown by nearly 8 hectares (20 acres)—about the size of 15 American football fields—by early February, Plank said.

Tonga, Home Reef

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