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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-517
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2022-517
04 Jul 2022
 | 04 Jul 2022

The evolution and dynamics of the Hunga Tonga plume in the stratosphere

Bernard Legras, Clair Duchamp, Pasquale Sellitto, Aurélien Podglajen, Elisa Carboni, Richard Siddans, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Felix Ploeger

Abstract. We use a combination of space-borne instruments (CALIOP, OMPS-LP, IASI, MLS, ALADIN, GEOs) to study the unprecedented stratospheric plume after the Hunga Tonga eruption of 15 January 2022. The plume was formed of two initial clouds at 30 and 28 km mostly composed of sub-micronic sulphate particles without ashes, washed-out within the first hours. The large amount of water vapour injected led to a fast conversion of SO2 to sulphates and the fast descent of the plume over the first three weeks. While SO2 returned to background levels by the end of January, the sulphate plume persisted until June, mainly confined between 20° N and 35° S due to the zonal symmetry of the summer stratospheric circulation at 24–25 km. As they grew through hydration and coagulation, the sedimenting sulphate particles separated from the ascending moisture entrained in the Brewer-Dobson circulation. IASI-derived sulphate aerosol optical depths show that the aerosol plume was not simply diluted and dispersed passively but rather organized in concentrated patches. ALADIN-AEOLUS winds suggest that those structures, generated by shear-induced instabilities, are associated with vorticity anomalies. They likely enhance the duration and impacts of the plume.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

23 Nov 2022
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The evolution and dynamics of the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai sulfate aerosol plume in the stratosphere
Bernard Legras, Clair Duchamp, Pasquale Sellitto, Aurélien Podglajen, Elisa Carboni, Richard Siddans, Jens-Uwe Grooß, Sergey Khaykin, and Felix Ploeger
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 14957–14970, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022, 2022
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The requested preprint has a corresponding peer-reviewed final revised paper. You are encouraged to refer to the final revised version.

This article describes the effect of the recent (January 2022) Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai...
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The long duration atmospheric impact of the Hunga Tonga eruption is a plume of water and...
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