The evolution and dynamics of the sulfate aerosol plume in the stratosphere after the exceptional Tonga eruption of 15 January 2022

<p>We use a combination of seven space-borne instruments to study the unprecedented stratospheric plume after the Tonga eruption of 15 January 2022.</p> <p>The aerosol plume was initially formed of two clouds at 30 and 28 km mostly composed of submicron-sized sulfate particles, without ashes washed-out within the first day following the eruption. The large amount of injected water vapour led to a fast conversion of SO₂to sulfate aerosols and induced a descent of the plume to 24-26 km over the first 3 weeks by radiative cooling. Whereas SO₂has returned to background levels by the end of January, volcanic sulfates and water still persisted after 6 months, mainly confined between 35&#176;S and 20&#176;N until June due to the zonal symmetry of the summer stratospheric circulation at 22-26 km. Sulfate particles, undergoing hygroscopic growth and coagulation, sediment and gradually separate from the moisture anomaly entrained in the ascending branch Brewer-Dobson circulation. Sulfate aerosol optical depths derived from the IASI infrared sounder show that during the first two months the aerosol plume was not simply diluted and dispersed passively but rather organized in concentrated patches. Space-borne lidar winds suggest that those structures, generated by shear-induced instabilities, were associated with vorticity anomalies that may have enhanced the duration and impact of the plume.</p> <p>Reference: ACP Highlight, DOI: 10.5194/acp-22-14957-2022</p>