Calendar Event Details

Michael Fromm and George P. Kablick III

Affiliation: Naval Research Laboratory
Event Date: Monday, September 23, 2019

Location: Bldg 33, Room E108
Time: 11:00 AM

Sulfate Rising: Observational Analysis of Dramatic Diabatic Lofting of the Raikoke Volcanic Cloud

Raikoke volcano erupted on 21-22 June 2019, and in the three months since that time, the gaseous and particulate cloud has spread around the Northern Hemisphere. As of September 2019 the sulfate aerosol cloud is still observable with several instruments. The initial eruption column is thought to have injected material up to a maximum of 15-17 km, but portions of the persistent Raikoke sulfate plume are now being observed at altitudes as great as 26 km. Owing to the unique, compact morphology and meteorological support, we have identified a sub-element of the enduring Raikoke sulfate plume and have tracked its development in a quasi-Lagrangian manner up to the present time (mid-September 2019). The key features of this plume element over this time are that it rose from 15-26 km, (in terms of potential temperature, from ~405-650K) and circled the globe 2+ times. We will present observation evidence, including CALIPSO backscatter data, IASI SO₂ retrievals, GOES visible data, and wind trajectories, and we will also present preliminary estimates of the plume radiative properties required to match the post-stratospheric-injection rise. To our knowledge, this is the first time that satellite data have been enabled to capture diabatic rise of a sulfate layer following a discrete volcanic-cloud element.

Posted or updated: Monday, September 16, 2019

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