Global transport and evolution of the Hunga sulfates and water from satellite and ground-based observations: a 2-year aftermath
Résumé
The eruption of the submarine Hunga volcano on 15 January 2022 was associated with a powerful blast that injected water and sulfur throughout the stratospheric layer, leading to an unprecedented increase in the global stratospheric water mass by 13% as compared to climatological levels and a 5-fold increase in the stratospheric aerosol load, the highest in the last three decades. The unique nature and magnitude of the global stratospheric perturbation by the Hunga eruption ranks it among the most remarkable climatic events in the modern observation era.
In this study, we combine the data from various satellite instruments (MLS, OMPS-LP, CALIOP, SAGE III, ACE-FTS) together with ground-based lidars and balloon soundings at various locations to investigate the global transport and evolution of the Hunga sulfates and moisture during more than two years following the event. In particular, we address the following aspects: timescales of meridional and vertical progression of the moisture and aerosol-rich layers; bulk transport into the southern high-latitudes; episodes of in-mixing into the northern extratropics; growth and sedimentation of Hunga sulfates. In addition, we compare the Hunga stratospheric aerosol perturbation with those produced by moderate and major eruptions in terms of the e-folding time, spatial evolution and aerosol microphysical parameters.