Open AccessImpacts of the eruption of Miyakejima Volcano on air quality over far east Asia
Author(s) -
Kajino Mizuo,
Ueda Hiromasa,
Satsumabayashi Hikaru,
An Junling
Publication year - 2004
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 - 10.1029/2004jd004762
Subject(s) - volcano , aerosol , plume , sulfate aerosol , geology , precipitation , ridge , sulfate , vulcanian eruption , atmospheric sciences , panache , subtropical ridge , environmental science , climatology , oceanography , meteorology , geochemistry , geography , paleontology , materials science , stratosphere , metallurgy
A regional‐scale Eulerian Model System for Soluble Particles (MSSP) was constructed to simulate environmental changes caused by a SO 4 2− increase as the result of the eruption of Miyakejima Volcano in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The measured volcanic SO 2 emission was 9 Tg yr −1 for a year from the beginning of the eruption, July 2000. It is equivalent to 70% of global volcanic emission and 6.9% of global anthropogenic emission. Seasonal variations of the volcanic sulfate increase, and change of gas‐aerosol partitioning of NH 3 and pH decrease of precipitation were studied using the MSSP model for 1 year from September 2000 to August 2001, together with observations performed at Happo Ridge observatory in the mountainous area in central Japan. In winter, northwesterly wind prevails, and volcanic SO 4 2− was mainly transported southeastward to the Pacific Ocean while volcanic SO 4 2− was transported southwestward to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, owing to the subtropical high‐pressure system over the Pacific Ocean in summer. Temporal variations of SO 4 2− concentrations and gas‐aerosol equilibrium of NH 3 at Happo Ridge were well‐simulated. In the plume from the Asian continent, 98.7% of total SO 4 2− was anthropogenic, and 63.5% of NH 3 existed in aerosol phase as (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 . In the volcanic plume, 95.5% was volcanic, excessive sulfate fixed 100% of NH 3 into aerosol phase, and aerosol was strongly acidified. Modeled annual mean pH of precipitation in Japan decreased by 0.3–1.0, which is equivalent to neutralization by yellow sand.