Antarctic Vortex Dehydration in 2023 as a Substantial Removal Pathway for Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai Water Vapor

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• 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
• Other Authors: School of Atmospheric Sciences Chengdu (SAS), Chengdu University of Information Technology (CUIT), School of Earth and Environment Leeds (SEE), University of Leeds, NERC National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO), Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), School of Geosciences Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh (Edin.), STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory (RAL), Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Lauder (NIWA), Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), University of Colorado Boulder -National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ESRL Global Monitoring Laboratory Boulder (GML), NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), STRATO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), ANR-21-CE01-0028,PyroStrat,Impact climatique des émissions des feux de forêt dans la stratosphère(2021)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2024
• Subjects: [SDU.STU]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences; Antarc*; Antarctic
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-04554653; https://insu.hal.science/insu-04554653/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-04554653/file/Geophysical%20Research%20Letters%20-%202024%20-%20Zhou%20-%20Antarctic%20Vortex%20Dehydration%20in%202023%20as%20a%20Substantial%20Removal%20Pathway%20for.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2023gl107630

International audience The January 2022 eruption of Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) injected a huge amount (∼150 Tg) of water vapor (H2O) into the stratosphere, along with small amount of SO2. An off‐line 3‐D chemical transport model (CTM) successfully reproduces the spread of the injected H2O through October 2023 as observed by the Microwave Limb Sounder. Dehydration in the 2023 Antarctic polar vortex caused the first substantial (∼20 Tg) removal of HTHH H2O from the stratosphere. The CTM indicates that this process will dominate removal of HTHH H2O for the coming years, giving an overall e‐folding timescale of 4 years; around 25 Tg of the injected H2O 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 H2O‐ related chemistry was small and maximized at the vortex edge (10 DU in column).