Exploring the human-nature dynamics of Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha'apai, Earth's newest landmass

This paper examines the human-nature dynamics of volcanic eruptions through a multidisciplinary exploration
of the recently-formed Hunga Tonga Hunga Ha‘apai (HTHH) landmass in the Kingdom of Tonga. HTHH was
formed in early 2015 in the Ha‘apai island group in southwestern Tonga. This landmass has persisted longer
than expected, providing a rare opportunity to examine pathways of erosion and biological colonization, and offering
a glimpse into the cultural dynamics of a continuously changing Polynesian seascape. In 2018 and 2019, a
collaborative partnership between the Kingdomof Tonga, Sea Education Association (SEA), and the United States
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) ran expeditions to HTHH to calibrate satellite observations
via field, ship, and drone-based measurements. In accessing HTHH via SEA's sailing school vessel (SSV)
the Robert C. Seamans, a team of scientists and students combined fieldwork in anthropology, oceanography,
and physical volcanology to study micro- and macro-scale dynamics of this classical surtseyan eruption site. In
this pathfinding paper, we discuss the value of involving students in the process of real-time scientific discovery
with on-the-fly adaptive hypothesis testing; this collaborative project provided mutual benefit to initiatives in
science and education by offering robust data collection, while expanding environmental and cultural literacy.
Additionally, we integrate collaborative research on HTHH with ethnographic research to understand how this
ever changing “sea of islands” or intimately interconnected island spaces impact social-cultural relations within
Oceania. We emphasize the importance of such multidisciplinary research in understanding the complexity of
human-nature relations in a rapidly changing world.