Open AccessRemote sensing and inverse transport modeling of the Kasatochi eruption sulfur dioxide cloud
Author(s) -
Kristiansen N. I.,
Stohl A.,
Prata A. J.,
Richter A.,
Eckhardt S.,
Seibert P.,
Hoffmann A.,
Ritter C.,
Bitar L.,
Duck T. J.,
Stebel K.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2009jd013286
Subject(s) - atmospheric infrared sounder , ozone monitoring instrument , lidar , environmental science , stratosphere , atmospheric sciences , volcano , altitude (triangle) , satellite , vulcanian eruption , geology , atmosphere (unit) , meteorology , remote sensing , troposphere , physics , seismology , geometry , mathematics , astronomy
An analytical inversion method is used to estimate the vertical profile of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emissions from the major 2008 eruption of Kasatochi Volcano, located on the Aleutian Arc, Alaska. The method uses satellite‐observed total SO 2 columns from the Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment‐2 (GOME‐2), Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), and Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS) during the first 2 days after the eruption, and an atmospheric transport model, FLEXPART, to calculate the vertical emission profile. The inversion yields an emission profile with two large emission maxima near 7 km above sea level (asl) and around 12 km asl, with smaller emissions up to 20 km. The total mass of SO 2 injected into the atmosphere by the eruption is estimated to 1.7 Tg, with ∼1 Tg reaching the stratosphere (above 10 km asl). The estimated vertical emission profile is robust against changes of the assumed eruption time, meteorological input data, and satellite data used. Using the vertical emission profile, a simulation of the transport extending for 1 month after the eruption is performed. The simulated cloud agrees very well with SO 2 columns observed by GOME‐2, OMI, and AIRS until 6 days after the eruption, and the altitudes agree with both Cloud‐Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation measurements and ground‐based lidar observations to within 1 km. The method is computationally very fast. It is therefore suitable for implementation within an operational environment, such as the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers, to predict the threat posed by volcanic emissions for air traffic.