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https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5644
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5644
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Preprints
19 Oct 2026
 | 19 Oct 2026
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (ACP).

Optical properties of stratospheric aerosols from wildfires and volcanic eruptions constrained by satellite and ground-based lidars – Part II: Evolution of young plumes

Océane Soares, Sergey Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Nikolay Kadygrov, and Loic Vieille

Abstract. Volcanic eruptions and intense wildfires can inject large amounts of aerosols and their precursors into the stratosphere, where they can persist from several months to years and affect atmospheric composition and radiative balance. The optical and microphysical properties of these aerosol populations evolve rapidly during the first weeks to months following injection as a result of transport, sedimentation, particle growth, aggregation and chemical ageing. Characterizing this early evolution is essential for understanding the processes controlling the transformation and vertical evolution of stratospheric aerosol plumes.

Following the large-scale and long-term analysis of stratospheric aerosol perturbations presented in Part I, in this study, we investigate the early evolution of major volcanic and wildfire stratospheric aerosol perturbations using observations from the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) aboard Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) satellite. The CALIOP Level 2 5 km Aerosol Layer product is used to combine scattering ratio (SR), particulate linear depolarization ratio (PLDR), and color ratio (CR), providing complementary information on aerosol loading.

The analysis is extended beyond the CALIPSO observational period to the 2025 Panboreal Wildfire Outbreak (PWO) using observations from the Atmospheric Lidar (ATLID) aboard EarthCARE. ATLID captures the progressive ascent of the stratospheric smoke layer and its evolving depolarization, providing an independent characterization of the self-lofting and microphysical evolution of a recent major wildfire perturbation. Together, CALIOP and ATLID observations demonstrate the value of combining aerosol loading, depolarization, size-sensitive optical properties and vertical transport to characterize the early evolution of stratospheric aerosol plumes.

How to cite. Soares, O., Khaykin, S., Godin-Beekmann, S., Kadygrov, N., and Vieille, L.: Optical properties of stratospheric aerosols from wildfires and volcanic eruptions constrained by satellite and ground-based lidars – Part II: Evolution of young plumes, EGUsphere [preprint], https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-5644, 2026.
Received: 16 Sep 2026 – Discussion started: 19 Oct 2026
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Océane Soares, Sergey Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Nikolay Kadygrov, and Loic Vieille

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Océane Soares, Sergey Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Nikolay Kadygrov, and Loic Vieille
Océane Soares, Sergey Khaykin, Sophie Godin-Beekmann, Nikolay Kadygrov, and Loic Vieille
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Short summary
Volcanic eruptions and extreme wildfires can send particles high into the atmosphere, where they rapidly change after their release. Using satellite observations, we compare major events during their first months and show that particles from volcanoes and fires evolve differently in shape, size and height. These differences help explain why some events have longer-lasting effects in the atmosphere than others.
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