Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption
The separation of volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas is sometimes observed during volcanic eruptions. The exact conditions under which separation occurs are not fully understood but the phenomenon is of importance because of the effects volcanic emissions have on aviation, on the environment,...
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ftunivreading:oai:centaur.reading.ac.uk:72908 2024-05-19T07:40:46+00:00 Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption Prata, Fred Woodhouse, Mark Huppert, Herbert E. Prata, Andrew Thordarson, Thor Carn, Simon 2017-09-12 text https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/72908/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/72908/1/acp-17-10709-2017.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017 en eng Copernicus Publications https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/72908/1/acp-17-10709-2017.pdf Prata, F., Woodhouse, M., Huppert, H. E., Prata, A. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90008138.html>, Thordarson, T. and Carn, S. (2017) Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 17 (17). pp. 10709-10732. ISSN 1680-7316 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017 <https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017> cc_by Article PeerReviewed 2017 ftunivreading https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017 2024-05-01T00:11:36Z The separation of volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas is sometimes observed during volcanic eruptions. The exact conditions under which separation occurs are not fully understood but the phenomenon is of importance because of the effects volcanic emissions have on aviation, on the environment, and on the earth’s radiation balance. The eruption of Grímsvötn, a subglacial volcano under the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland during 21–28 May 2011 produced one of the most spectacular examples of ash and SO2 separation, which led to errors in the forecasting of ash in the atmosphere over northern Europe. Satellite data from several sources coupled with meteorological wind data and photographic evidence suggest that the eruption column was unable to sustain itself, resulting in a large deposition of ash, which left a low-level ash-rich atmospheric plume moving southwards and then eastwards towards the southern Scandinavian coast and a high-level predominantly SO2 plume travelling northwards and then spreading eastwards and westwards. Here we provide observational and modelling perspectives on the separation of ash and SO2 and present quantitative estimates of the masses of ash and SO2 that erupted, the directions of transport, and the likely impacts. We hypothesise that a partial column collapse or “sloughing” fed with ash from pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) occurred during the early stage of the eruption, leading to an ash-laden gravity intrusion that was swept southwards, separated from the main column. Our model suggests that water-mediated aggregation caused enhanced ash removal because of the plentiful supply of source water from melted glacial ice and from entrained atmospheric water. The analysis also suggests that ash and SO2 should be treated with separate source terms, leading to improvements in forecasting the movement of both types of emissions. Article in Journal/Newspaper glacier Iceland Vatnajökull CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 17 17 10709 10732 |
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Open Polar |
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CentAUR: Central Archive at the University of Reading |
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ftunivreading |
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English |
description |
The separation of volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas is sometimes observed during volcanic eruptions. The exact conditions under which separation occurs are not fully understood but the phenomenon is of importance because of the effects volcanic emissions have on aviation, on the environment, and on the earth’s radiation balance. The eruption of Grímsvötn, a subglacial volcano under the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland during 21–28 May 2011 produced one of the most spectacular examples of ash and SO2 separation, which led to errors in the forecasting of ash in the atmosphere over northern Europe. Satellite data from several sources coupled with meteorological wind data and photographic evidence suggest that the eruption column was unable to sustain itself, resulting in a large deposition of ash, which left a low-level ash-rich atmospheric plume moving southwards and then eastwards towards the southern Scandinavian coast and a high-level predominantly SO2 plume travelling northwards and then spreading eastwards and westwards. Here we provide observational and modelling perspectives on the separation of ash and SO2 and present quantitative estimates of the masses of ash and SO2 that erupted, the directions of transport, and the likely impacts. We hypothesise that a partial column collapse or “sloughing” fed with ash from pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) occurred during the early stage of the eruption, leading to an ash-laden gravity intrusion that was swept southwards, separated from the main column. Our model suggests that water-mediated aggregation caused enhanced ash removal because of the plentiful supply of source water from melted glacial ice and from entrained atmospheric water. The analysis also suggests that ash and SO2 should be treated with separate source terms, leading to improvements in forecasting the movement of both types of emissions. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Prata, Fred Woodhouse, Mark Huppert, Herbert E. Prata, Andrew Thordarson, Thor Carn, Simon |
spellingShingle |
Prata, Fred Woodhouse, Mark Huppert, Herbert E. Prata, Andrew Thordarson, Thor Carn, Simon Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption |
author_facet |
Prata, Fred Woodhouse, Mark Huppert, Herbert E. Prata, Andrew Thordarson, Thor Carn, Simon |
author_sort |
Prata, Fred |
title |
Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption |
title_short |
Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption |
title_full |
Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption |
title_fullStr |
Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption |
title_full_unstemmed |
Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption |
title_sort |
atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and so2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the may 2011 grímsvötn eruption |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/72908/ https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/72908/1/acp-17-10709-2017.pdf https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017 |
genre |
glacier Iceland Vatnajökull |
genre_facet |
glacier Iceland Vatnajökull |
op_relation |
https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/72908/1/acp-17-10709-2017.pdf Prata, F., Woodhouse, M., Huppert, H. E., Prata, A. <https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90008138.html>, Thordarson, T. and Carn, S. (2017) Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO2 in volcanic eruptions: inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 17 (17). pp. 10709-10732. ISSN 1680-7316 doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017 <https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017> |
op_rights |
cc_by |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017 |
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Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
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17 |
container_issue |
17 |
container_start_page |
10709 |
op_container_end_page |
10732 |
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1799480337334534144 |