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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsWe might now and in the future be experiencing the climate effects of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai
Slowly, at first, and then suddenly, all at once.
On 15 January, Tongas Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted under the sea, rocking the South Pacific nation [Pacific island midway between Bora Bora and Australia] and sending tsunamis racing around the world. The eruption was the most powerful ever recorded, causing an atmospheric shock wave that circled the globe four times, and sending a plume of debris more than 50 kilometers into the atmosphere. But it didnt stop there.
The ash and gasses punching into the sky also shot billions of kilograms of water into the atmosphere, a new study concludes. That water will likely remain there for years, where it could eat away at the ozone layer and perhaps even warm Earth.
The idea that an eruption could directly inject a large amount of water vapor into the stratosphere has not to my knowledge been directly observed, at least not to this magnitude, says Matthew Toohey, a physicist who focuses on climate modeling and the effects of volcanic eruptions at the University of Saskatchewan and was not involved with the work. We are really surprised by this eruption in many different ways.
The study comes thanks to the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) aboard NASAs Aura satellite. The instrument, which became operational in 2004, measures a variety of compounds in Earths atmosphere at heights up to about 100 kilometers. Of particular interest to scientists at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including study co-author and JPL atmospheric scientist Luis Millán, were the water and sulfur dioxide released by the eruption, because those compounds can affect climate. With repeated observations from the MLS on both the day of the eruption and the days afterward, the researchers were able to watch the plume, and its water content, grow and disperse around the globe.
In all, the plume shot approximately 146 billion kilograms of water into Earths stratosphere, an arid layer of the atmosphere that begins several miles above sea level, the authors report this month in Geophysical Research Letters. Thats equivalent to about 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, or about 10% of the entire water content of the stratosphere, Millán says.
Other volcanoes have added measurable amounts of water vapor to Earths atmosphere, he says, but the scale this time was unprecedented. Thats likely because of the eruptions magnitude and underwater location, he says. The water will probably remain in the stratosphere for half a decade or more, he says.
Big volcanic eruptions often cool the climate, because the sulfur dioxide they release forms compounds that reflect incoming sunlight. But with so much water vapor flung aloft, the Tonga eruption could have a different impact.
Water absorbs incoming energy from the Sun, making it a potent greenhouse gas. And the sulfur dioxide will dissipate in just a few years whereas the water will likely stick around for at least 5 yearsand potentially longer Millán thinks.
That could make Earth warmer for years and accelerate the warming from greenhouse gasses, Toohey says. Well kind of just jump forward by a few years.
But the actual effects on climate will likely take time to understand, says Allegra LeGrande, a physical research scientist at NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies who was not involved with the work. I dont think there is a consensus about what the overall impact will be.
High above Earth, the water will likely react with other chemicals, potentially degrading the ozone layer that protects us from ultraviolet light, and even changing the circulation of air currents that govern weather patterns.
As the climatic impacts unfold, scientists are eagerly awaiting even more new insights from a volcanic eruption thats proved to be unlike any other theyve seen....
On 15 January, Tongas Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted under the sea, rocking the South Pacific nation [Pacific island midway between Bora Bora and Australia] and sending tsunamis racing around the world. The eruption was the most powerful ever recorded, causing an atmospheric shock wave that circled the globe four times, and sending a plume of debris more than 50 kilometers into the atmosphere. But it didnt stop there.
The ash and gasses punching into the sky also shot billions of kilograms of water into the atmosphere, a new study concludes. That water will likely remain there for years, where it could eat away at the ozone layer and perhaps even warm Earth.
The idea that an eruption could directly inject a large amount of water vapor into the stratosphere has not to my knowledge been directly observed, at least not to this magnitude, says Matthew Toohey, a physicist who focuses on climate modeling and the effects of volcanic eruptions at the University of Saskatchewan and was not involved with the work. We are really surprised by this eruption in many different ways.
The study comes thanks to the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) aboard NASAs Aura satellite. The instrument, which became operational in 2004, measures a variety of compounds in Earths atmosphere at heights up to about 100 kilometers. Of particular interest to scientists at NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, including study co-author and JPL atmospheric scientist Luis Millán, were the water and sulfur dioxide released by the eruption, because those compounds can affect climate. With repeated observations from the MLS on both the day of the eruption and the days afterward, the researchers were able to watch the plume, and its water content, grow and disperse around the globe.
In all, the plume shot approximately 146 billion kilograms of water into Earths stratosphere, an arid layer of the atmosphere that begins several miles above sea level, the authors report this month in Geophysical Research Letters. Thats equivalent to about 58,000 Olympic-size swimming pools, or about 10% of the entire water content of the stratosphere, Millán says.
Other volcanoes have added measurable amounts of water vapor to Earths atmosphere, he says, but the scale this time was unprecedented. Thats likely because of the eruptions magnitude and underwater location, he says. The water will probably remain in the stratosphere for half a decade or more, he says.
Big volcanic eruptions often cool the climate, because the sulfur dioxide they release forms compounds that reflect incoming sunlight. But with so much water vapor flung aloft, the Tonga eruption could have a different impact.
Water absorbs incoming energy from the Sun, making it a potent greenhouse gas. And the sulfur dioxide will dissipate in just a few years whereas the water will likely stick around for at least 5 yearsand potentially longer Millán thinks.
That could make Earth warmer for years and accelerate the warming from greenhouse gasses, Toohey says. Well kind of just jump forward by a few years.
But the actual effects on climate will likely take time to understand, says Allegra LeGrande, a physical research scientist at NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies who was not involved with the work. I dont think there is a consensus about what the overall impact will be.
High above Earth, the water will likely react with other chemicals, potentially degrading the ozone layer that protects us from ultraviolet light, and even changing the circulation of air currents that govern weather patterns.
As the climatic impacts unfold, scientists are eagerly awaiting even more new insights from a volcanic eruption thats proved to be unlike any other theyve seen....
https://www.science.org/content/article/massive-undersea-eruption-filled-atmosphere-water?fbclid=IwAR2apgshheJ9n7ya9zewokAflEn8_aIfzHEC7buKvCZ_RwdmXrpV4b6jAdg
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai volcano smoldering in December 2021. The volcano erupted on 15 January, sending shock waves around the globe and sending aloft a plume of water vapor that injected billions of kilograms of water into the stratosphere. (Maxar via Getty Images)
One scientist's insight and excitement is another population's disaster and suffering.
Add all of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai's water vapor to this news from NASA:
Steamy Relationships: How Atmospheric Water Vapor Supercharges Earth's Greenhouse Effect
By Alan Buis,
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
https://climate.nasa.gov/internal_resources/2512/
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We might now and in the future be experiencing the climate effects of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai (Original Post)
ancianita
Jul 2022
OP
2naSalit
(86,802 posts)1. Cumulative effects...
Will do a lot to facilitate the boiling frog syndrome.
ancianita
(36,137 posts)2. Exactly. Huge atmospheric events that show accumulating effects months later on the continents.
Like the massive one-in-a-thousand-year rainstorms that flood and kill in the Midwest. And like wildfires accompanied by windy thunderstorms. Scary weird. Hard to prep for, but people will now have to -- or move, which might be the smartest plan.
2naSalit
(86,802 posts)3. We had one of those...
Floods here in SW Montana last month. The massive piles of debris piled up on the banks is amazing and terrifying.
Hermit-The-Prog
(33,447 posts)4. methane permafrost feedback loop ...