Antarctic vortex dehydration in 2023 as a substantial removal pathway for Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai water vapour

The January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) injected a huge amount (~150 Tg) of water vapour (HO) into the stratosphere, along with small amount of SO. An off-line 3-D chemical transport model (CTM) successfully reproduces the spread of the injected HO through October 2023 as obser...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Zhou, Xin, Dhomse, Sandip S, Feng, Wuhu, Mann, Graham, Heddell, Saffron, Pumphrey, Hugh, Kerridge, Brian J, Latter, Barry, Siddans, Richard, Ventress, Lucy, Querel, Richard, Smale, Penny, Asher, Elizabeth, Hall, Emrys G, Bekki, Slimane, Chipperfield, Martyn P
Format: Other/Unknown Material
Language:unknown
Published: Authorea, Inc. 2024
Subjects:
Antarctic
Midwinter
Tonga
Antarc*
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.22541/essoar.170603848.83725516/v1
Description
Summary:The January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) injected a huge amount (~150 Tg) of water vapour (HO) into the stratosphere, along with small amount of SO. An off-line 3-D chemical transport model (CTM) successfully reproduces the spread of the injected HO through October 2023 as observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). Dehydration in the 2023 Antarctic polar vortex caused the first substantial (~20 Tg) removal of HTHH HO from the stratosphere. The CTM indicates that this process will dominate removal of HTHH HO for the coming years, giving an overall e-folding timescale of 4 years; around 25 Tg of the injected HO is predicted to still remain in the stratosphere by 2030. Following relatively low Antarctic column ozone in midwinter 2023 due to transport effects, additional springtime depletion due to HO-related chemistry was small and maximised at the vortex edge (10 DU in column).

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