CANBERRA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- An international team has embarked on a 54-day voyage to study the impacts of Tonga's 2022 underwater volcanic eruption, the largest in over a century.

The expedition is aboard the research vessel Investigator of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's national science agency, according to a statement released Tuesday by Australia's University of Tasmania (UTAS).

The expedition will study the eruption of Tonga's underwater Hunga Volcano, a submarine volcano located 65 km northwest of Tonga's main island, and its devastation and recovery of marine ecosystems, it said.

A team of 40 scientists and technical staff from UTAS, Tonga Geological Services, and partners from Fiji, New Zealand, Britain, and the United States will conduct over 120 scientific operations in and around the underwater volcano.

The eruption produced an ash column reaching 58 km and triggered a Pacific-wide tsunami, disrupted fisheries, reshaped the seafloor, and damaged undersea cables that affected thousands in Tonga for months.

The voyage's chief scientist, Associate Professor Rebecca Carey from the University of Tasmania, described the eruption site as a unique "ground zero" for studying the recovery of deep-sea ecosystems.

Findings of the voyage will support hazard assessments, risk models, and recovery planning to build regional resilience and guide undersea communications backup installation for future cable breaks and volcanic events.

"Our team will map the seafloor and sub-seafloor, extract sediment cores, conduct marine life surveys, and explore environmental DNA in seawater so we can better understand volcanic processes and ecosystem recovery," Carey said.

Scientists will search for volcanic plumes indicating underwater volcanic activity, according to CSIRO.

The research will also generate knowledge to help Pacific Island nations better manage risk from natural disasters to help protect fisheries and food security, it said. Enditem