How does a Pinatubo-size Volcanic Cloud Reach the Middle Stratosphere?
Type
ArticleAuthors
Stenchikov, Georgiy L.
Ukhov, Alexander

Osipov, Sergey

Ahmadov, Ravan
Grell, Georg
Cady-Pereira, Karen

Mlawer, Eli

Iacono, Michael

KAUST Department
Earth Science and Engineering ProgramPhysical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division
KAUST Grant Number
BAS/1/1309-01-01.Date
2021-05-21Online Publication Date
2021-05-21Print Publication Date
2021-05-27Embargo End Date
2021-11-14Submitted Date
2020-09-02Permanent link to this record
http://hdl.handle.net/10754/669490
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Volcanic explosions are the most critical replenishing mechanism of the stratospheric aerosol Junge layer. A fresh volcanic cloud comprises mostly sulfur-bearing gases, volcanic ash, and water vapor. It is commonly assumed that only sulfate aerosols remain in an aged volcanic cloud. Accurate simulation of the initial evolution of multicomponent fresh volcanic clouds is largely missing due to insufficient spatial resolution and a lack of relevant physics in global climate models. However, this initial stage is essential, as the vertical structure, composition, and altitude of a freshly developed volcanic cloud affect its long-term evolution. To fill this gap, we modified a regional WRF-Chem model to study the dispersion of a Pinatubo-size volcanic cloud in the equatorial belt with a 25 km grid spacing explicitly accounting for the SO2, ash, sulfate, water vapor, and hydrometeors radiative effects. The model best reproduces the observed evolution of the Pinatubo optical depth when eruptive products are injected above the cold tropical tropopause at 17 km. During the first week, the volcanic cloud in our simulations rises 1 km/day. Ash is primarily responsible for the heating and lofting of the volcanic products. Radiative heating of SO2 is weaker than that of ash and sulfate but is sufficient to position the core of the SO2 layer 1–2 km above the sulfate layer. Utilizing a more realistic description of the volcanic cloud's initial stage potentially improves overall volcanic cloud predictability. It might also be essential to designing geoengineering technologies based on the injection of aerosol precursors in the lower stratosphere.Citation
Stenchikov, G., Ukhov, A., Osipov, S., Ahmadov, R., Grell, G., Cady-Pereira, K., … Iacono, M. (2021). How does a Pinatubo-size Volcanic Cloud Reach the Middle Stratosphere? Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. doi:10.1029/2020jd033829Sponsors
The study reported in this publication was supported by funding from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) through Grant BAS/1/1309-01-01. The authors thank the KAUST Supercomputing Laboratory for providing computer resources.Publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)Additional Links
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020JD033829ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1029/2020jd033829
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