Podkamennaya Tunguska River Siberia Meteoroid Massive Explosion

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Podkamennaya Tunguska River Siberia Meteoroid Massive Explosion

Introduction

An asteroid struck Earth on June 30, 1908, and burst in the sky over Siberia. An incident

from these rocky objects that orbit the sun led to massive forest fires and burning of the nature

cover (Svetsov & Shuvalov, 2008). Asteroid events have less publicity due to the remoteness

of areas where they occur. Evidence collected in areas where these asteroids have occurred is

characterized by the destruction caused, including shock waves and heat blasts from aerial

explosions. The scarcity of the data gathered by archeologists highlights that indeed no such

events have been as damaging as the Tunguska explosion (Svetsov & Shuvalov, 2008). For this

reason, NASA established a Planetary Defense Coordination Office and, during the DART

mission, to carry out extensive tests of the existing technology to redirect small asteroids should

it pose danger on the Earth's surface in the future.

Fig 1 shows an asteroid in the sky

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Due to its remote location and other factors like World War 1, the Russian Revolution,

and ongoing civil wars, no scientific expeditions to the Tunguska site were conducted for almost

20 years (Wang, 2020). Nevertheless, among the most notable asteroid events in history, the

Tunguska event stands out. This is demonstrated by the fact that the area still showed clear signs

of the explosion 19 years after it occurred (Wang, 2020). Kulik estimated that the destruction

covered 830 square miles and that 80 million trees had been wiped out. Since the Tunguska

explosion in 1908, no other asteroid event of this size has happened. Thus, the study of asteroids

contributes to increasing public awareness of these occurrences and the actions that can be taken

to defend the planet from them. Against this backdrop, the federal government declared June 30

to be International Asteroid Day to raise public awareness on the subject and impact.

The Hazardous Event

A dramatic collision of objects on Earth brought on by an asteroid strike is known as an

asteroid explosion (Wang, 2020). The explosion at Tunguska, which happened early on June 30,

1908, serves as one example. Explosions from asteroids strike the surface of the Earth, causing

damage in the vicinity of impact and exploding in the atmosphere (Wang, 2020). Explosions

cause catastrophic effects because of the damage they cause, which have an ongoing effect on

people for many years. Damage to the ground and the loss of forest cover are examples of these

damages.

The risk posed by the Tunguska explosion can be categorized as an asteroid/comet

impact hazard because Earth has geological evidence of cosmic impacts, according to the risk

assessment literature included in the study (Wang, 2020). The Tunguska asteroid explosion

released about 15 megatons of TNT, an equivalent to one of the most explosive volcano events

in modern times, the Tonga Explosion (L.F. Chernogor, 2023). The Tunguska explosion can be
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compared to Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption in January 2022 that was so intense that it

depleted the Ozone Layer in the following weeks (L.F. Chernogor, 2023). Simply put, the energy

produced by an asteroid explosion releases a fireball and blast wave in the atmosphere, high

above the surface of the Earth (Wang, 2020). The remains of an explosion can be described as

small fragments, each less than a millimeter across. The radiant energy and gases released from

such an explosion are likely to cause fires and damage the natural cover, causing human

destruction, death, destruction of property, and alter the chemical composition of the atmosphere.

Specifically, the Tunguska event had such a profound effect on the Earth’s atmosphere as it is

estimated to have generated up to 30 million tons of nitric oxide into the atmosphere. This

amount of nitric acid (NO) may have potentially depleted about 45% of the Earth’s Ozone layer

in the Northern Hemisphere (L.F. Chernogor, 2023).

According to assumptions made by scientists, the object composition on the assessment

made years after the explosion shows objects made of iron, rock, or ice. This model closely

matched the event as an iron asteroid up to 200 meters in diameter, traveling 11.2km per second.

Astrophysicist Wolfgang Kundt has proposed that such an event is not probable. While asteroids

of such magnitudes can be hard to occur, it is not entirely impossible.

Disaster Description

The Tunguska explosion is one of the asteroid events with the largest impact in recorded

history. Although the deaths reported during this explosion were not much as the area was

largely inhabited, a substantial amount of crop and vegetation cover was wiped out. According to

statements released by eyewitnesses, there were only a few injuries characterized by

concussions, fainting, broken arms, burns, aphasia, and blindness. Notably, fainting was the most

mentioned phenomenon from the event.

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(Fig 2) shows the impacted forest

Explosions of asteroids can have catastrophic effects on the environment and on people.

Such incidents result in a variety of injuries, the most common of which are sunburn, eye pain,

transient deafness, and excruciating headaches (Mainzer, et al, 2021). Exertion of energy results

in overpressure that can cause shock, eardrum rupture, lung damage, and unconsciousness. The

majority of those who come into contact with the event are also exposed to hazardous chemicals

and other materials emanating from the shockwaves. People who get sunburned by UV light are

also impacted by thermal radiation, and the damage caused to their skin and eyesight persists into

subsequent generations.

Disaster Assessment

By studying asteroids, scientists can evaluate the risks and necessary safety measures in

the event that an asteroid were to collide with Earth. The goal of probabilistic risk assessment

techniques is to describe the range of potential impact consequences in terms of their severity

and likelihood (Wheeler et al., 2024). While the probability of an event as severe as Tunguska

occurring is rare, it is not entirely impossible. Therefore, an assessment of the Tunguska disaster,

impact, and projection of had it happened in a city, has accelerated technological advancements

in tracking and monitoring. Impact monitoring is one of the pre-event assessments that helps to
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detect the probability of such explosions, asteroid properties, entry conditions, impact location,

and modeling of the potential resulting damage effects (Mainzer et al., 2021). In order to

anticipate any potential impacts, scientists have developed methods for tracking and monitoring

potential asteroid events. For instance, had the Tunguska event occurred in New York City, the

radiant heatwave would cover a distance thrice the size of the city. The resulting shockwave

would break nearly all windows within 1,000 miles. The falling debris and glass, the fires, and

the thermal radiation would lead to a massive loss of life, in millions (Siegel, n.d.). The few that

would survive would be temporarily or permanently blind and/or deaf. For this reason, all

stakeholders must support the efforts to track and monitor potential asteroid events.

By utilizing tracking and monitoring systems, scientists are able to ascertain the

likelihood of future collisions and implement the appropriate safety precautions. Furthermore,

the systems aid in the identification and cataloging of near-Earth asteroids by recording their

orbits and other properties (Wheeler et al., 2024). Additionally, research has demonstrated that

precise evaluation using radar and telescopes aids in tracking object movement and, as a result,

advises people to avoid the potential impact area. Even though asteroid events have terrible

effects, recovery efforts may be able to save lives when they occur.

Discussion and Conclusions

The Tunguska explosion was one destructive asteroid events in recorded history. The

extensive damage to forest cover coupled with biological damage that extended generations also

made it one of the deadliest asteroid events. The deaths resulting from this event was few largely

because the area was not populated. Nevertheless, an understanding of the dynamics around the

area shows that had it occurred in a more populated area like New York City, it would have been

catastrophic. To get ahead of such an event, astronomers today have focused more on examining
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and locating potential epicenters of similar events since the Tunguska disaster (Bruno, 2022).

The purpose of these levels of readiness is to warn people that these kinds of occurrences are

common (Bruno, 2022). For this reason, NASA always has sustained efforts to strengthen the

existing policies that will help safeguard citizens in the event that something like this happens

(Bruno, 2022). Every year on June 30, the United Nations observes Asteroid Day to increase

public awareness of the effects of asteroids as a preparedness measure. This is a globally

recognized event helps facilitate information exchange.

To conclude, asteroid events have extensive damage to the environment and atmosphere

at large especially one as wider as the Tunguska explosion. According to experts, if something

similar happened now, there would be massive tsunamis, acid rain, heat radiation, fires, shock

waves, and craters if the impact struck any bodies of water. Therefore, there is a need for a

sustained effort among the stakeholders to track and monitor these rocks for a better level of

preparedness. The Tunguska explosion was a learning event and picking from these lesson, steps

like International Asteroid Day help in creating awareness and consolidating the efforts.
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References

Bruno, A. (2022). Tunguska: A Siberian Mystery and Its Environmental Legacy. Cambridge

University Press.

L.F. Chernogor. (2023). PHYSICAL EFFECTS OF THE POWERFUL TONGA VOLCANO

EXPLOSION IN THE EARTH – ATMOSPHERE – IONOSPHERE –

MAGNETOSPHERE SYSTEM ON JANUARY 15, 2022. Космічна наука і

технологія, 29(2), 54–77. https://doi.org/10.15407/knit2023.02.054

Mainzer, A., Abell, P., Bannister, M., Barbee, B., Barnes, J., Bell, J. F., ... & Wright, E. (2021).

The future of planetary defense in the era of advanced surveys. Bulletin of the

AAS, 53(4).

Svetsov, V., & Shuvalov, V. (2008). Tunguska catastrophe of June 30 1908. In Catastrophic

events caused by cosmic objects (pp. 227-266). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.

Wang, J. A. (2020). Solving the Mystery of the Tunguska Explosion. Journal of Modern

Physics, pp. 11, 779–787.

Wheeler, L., Dotson, J., Aftosmis, M., Coates, A., Chomette, G., & Mathias, D. (2024). Risk

assessment for asteroid impact threat scenarios. Acta Astronautica, 216, 468-487.