Stratospheric Aerosol and Ozone Responses to the Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption

Abstract The Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) eruption on 15 January 2022 was one of the most explosive volcanic events of the 21st century so far. According to satellite‐based measurements, 0.4 Tg of sulfur dioxide (SO2) was injected into the stratosphere during the eruption. By using observat...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Jinpeng Lu, Sijia Lou, Xin Huang, Lian Xue, Ke Ding, Tengyu Liu, Yue Ma, Wuke Wang, Aijun Ding
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2023
Subjects:
volcanic sulfate
Brewer‐Dobson circulation
heterogeneous chemistry
stratospheric ozone
polar ozone depletion
Geophysics. Cosmic physics
QC801-809
Antarc*
Antarctic
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL102315
https://doaj.org/article/a40c309b69a74d05b9abc21664863772
Description
Summary:Abstract The Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) eruption on 15 January 2022 was one of the most explosive volcanic events of the 21st century so far. According to satellite‐based measurements, 0.4 Tg of sulfur dioxide (SO2) was injected into the stratosphere during the eruption. By using observations and model simulations, here we investigate changes in the chemical compositions of the stratosphere 1 year after the HTHH eruption and examine the key physical and chemical processes that influence the ozone (O3) concentrations. Injected SO2 was oxidized into sulfate during the first 2 months, and transported from the tropics to the Antarctic by the Brewer‐Dobson circulation within 1 year. In mid‐to‐low latitudes, enhanced sulfate aerosol increased O3 concentrations in the middle stratosphere but declined in the lower stratosphere. In addition to the chemical processes, sulfate aerosols also reduced polar low‐stratospheric O3 concentrations through enhanced Antarctic upwelling anomalies.

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