Space‐Borne Estimation of Volcanic Sulfate Aerosol Lifetime

Abstract

Aerosols are an important component of the climate system affecting visibility, clouds, and climate. They are also transported over short and long distances with consequences for continental‐scale nutrient availability. Processes that remove aerosols from the atmosphere are difficult to evaluate with observations in isolation from aerosol sources. As a result, a quantitative assessment of uncertainties in our understanding of aerosols is limited and narrowing of those uncertainties is difficult to demonstrate. In this study, we use satellite observations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and aerosols downwind of the Kīlauea volcano during May–September 2008. We derive the SO2 emission rate, the loss rate of SO2 that is indicative of the production rate of sulfate aerosols, and the subsequent removal rate of the formed sulfate. The result is the first determination of volcanic sulfate aerosol lifetime, 40–64 h, directly from satellite observations. The derived sulfate lifetime is significantly lower than the global average (3–5.5 days) and reflects the rapid wet scavenging of this plume.

Multi-Satellite Detection of Long-Range Transport and Transformation of Atmospheric Emissions from the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Volcano

“…It was reported that effective lifetimes of volcanic SO 2 plumes could last for 43-61 h between 1.10-2.73 km of altitude. These values are consistent with those predicted by Beirle et al [65] and GEOS-Chem [63]. Although volcanoes may directly release aerosols, however, large amounts of SO 2 could also generate sulfate aerosols, as in the case of the of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai eruption, which was also accompanied by large amounts of vapor.…”

“…Significant grassland, forest, and hill fires producing biomass-burning aerosols and dust aerosols from arid and semi-arid regions for long-range and large-scale transport between land and sea in mid to late January 2022 were lacking in Southern hemisphere land. Therefore, the recorded loss rate of SO 2 is indicative of the growth rate of sulfate aerosols [63]. Figures 2 and 3 show that both AOD and SO 2 expanded gradually.…”

Impact of Volcanic Sulfur Emissions on the Pine Forest of La Palma, Spain

“…This worldwide quantity illustrates the importance of the 2021 eruption on La Palma, with approximately 1 Tg SO 2 emissions. Recently, several groups studied volcanic SO 2 emissions with the support of remote sensing [81][82][83] and modeling [84]. However, there are few studies on the impact of volcanic gases on vegetation [31].…”