Yearender: Xinhua's top 10 world news events in 2022

Yearender: Xinhua's top 10 world news events in 2022

(221230) -- BEIJING, Dec. 30, 2022 (Xinhua) -- The combined satellite images show Tonga's Hunga Ha'apai island on April 11, 2021 (L) and Jan. 17, 2022. The orange curve on the right picture, drawn based on geological coordinates, shows the outline of Tonga's Hunga Ha'apai island before the underwater volcano eruption. Xinhua's top 10 world news events in 2022 Tonga volcano erupts with rare ferocity The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai underwater volcano of the Pacific island nation of Tonga erupted on Jan. 14-15 and triggered a tsunami. The eruption was more powerful than any nuclear test or any 20th century volcanic eruption. The 57-km plume was the highest ever recorded and the first observational one breaking through the stratosphere and directly into the mesosphere. The impact of the eruption on the global environment and climate has attracted wide attention. The international community has extended a helping hand to Tonga. The Chinese government took the lead in providing the first batch of emerge

Japan conducts CO2 study in Antarctic stratosphere

Japan conducts CO2 study in Antarctic stratosphere

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's Antarctic research expedition team successfully recovered on Dec. 30 two air study capsules launched by balloon that day to study the composition of carbon dioxide in the stratosphere above Japan's Showa Base in Antarctica. One capsule was launched to study the air composition at an altitude of 15 kilometers and the other to an altitude of 25 km. The capsules, recovered by helicopter from the Japanese Antarctic research ship Shirase, will be sent to Japan for analysis. Japan is the only country studying changes of carbon dioxide composition, a key factor in global warming, in the Antarctic stratosphere. The photo shows one of the air balloons launched on Dec. 30.

Hot-air balloon released in Antarctica for air survey

Hot-air balloon released in Antarctica for air survey

SHOWA BASE, Antarctica - Japanese researchers release a hot-air balloon at Showa Base in Antarctica on Dec. 26 to survey the distribution of ozone layers and greenhouse gases in the stratosphere. (Pool photo)

Japan conducts CO2 study in Antarctic stratosphere

Japan conducts CO2 study in Antarctic stratosphere

TOKYO, Japan - Japan's Antarctic research expedition team successfully recovered on Dec. 30 two air study capsules launched by balloon that day to study the composition of carbon dioxide in the stratosphere above Japan's Showa Base in Antarctica. One capsule was launched to study the air composition at an altitude of 15 kilometers and the other to an altitude of 25 km. The capsules, recovered by helicopter from the Japanese Antarctic research ship Shirase, will be sent to Japan for analysis. Japan is the only country studying changes of carbon dioxide composition, a key factor in global warming, in the Antarctic stratosphere. The photo shows one of the air balloons launched on Dec. 30. (Kyodo)

Hot-air balloon released in Antarctica for air survey

Hot-air balloon released in Antarctica for air survey

SHOWA BASE, Antarctica - Japanese researchers release a hot-air balloon at Showa Base in Antarctica on Dec. 26 to survey the distribution of ozone layers and greenhouse gases in the stratosphere. (Pool photo)(Kyodo)

Unmanned airship makes world's 1st flight into stratosphere

Unmanned airship makes world's 1st flight into stratosphere

MITO, Japan - An unmanned airship filled with air and helium stands ready to be flown into the stratosphere at the National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan (NAL) in Hitachi, Ibaraki Prefecture on Aug. 4. A Japanese research team successfully sent the airship into the stratosphere later in the day, marking the world's first such flight to the level. It collected air samples at an altitude of 16.4 km and returned after a flight of one hour and 54 minutes. (Kyodo)