volcano eruption Honga Tongawhose shock waves traveled through the Earth in mid-January 2022, and generated the highest dust cloud since at least the catastrophic volcanic eruption. Krakatoa In 1883 – according to a new study. The amount of water introduced by the volcano into the Earth’s atmosphere may warm the climate.
Hong Tonga – Hong Happi It erupted at the bottom of the South Pacific Ocean near the Tonga Islands, and a column of volcanic ash rose 57 km above sea level. The huge eruption was recorded in history, since, according to scientists in the journal Science, it is the first recorded explosion from which dust penetrates the third layer of the atmosphere – mesosphere.
In this part of the protective gaseous envelope that surrounds our planet, starting at an altitude of 48 km above us, meteors burn, creating a spectacle of “falling stars”.
scientists z Oxford university british space center RAL . space Use three geostationary satellites to accurately measure the height of a gigantic column. previous record holder, Mount Pinatubo In the Philippines in 1991, during the eruption of a volcano, it released 40 kilometers of dust.
“This is a great result because we have never seen such a high cloud before,” said the director of research and lead author of the report. Proud Dr. Simon. – In addition, being able to estimate height the way we did, is to use Parallax MethodsIt is only possible now that we have good satellite coverage. Ten years ago this would have been impossible.
On January 15, 2022, a catastrophic volcanic eruption ruptured the Polynesian island of Hunga Tonga-Hongga Hapa. Previously, an inconspicuous underwater volcano in a remote part of the world erupted with unprecedented force before the eyes. Three weather satellites. These satellites allowed scientists to observe the amazing element in real time and study its consequences in unprecedented detail, we read at space.com.
Calculations showed that the Hong Tong cloud penetrated more than just troposphereBut it also rose all the time stratosphereIt only reaches a plateau 57 km high, far into the frozen, dry layer known as the mesosphere. This makes the Hongja Tonga volcanic cloud the highest ever and may be the highest in more than a century.
The previous record holder, Mount Pinatubo, cooled the Earth’s climate 0.6°C. The ash from the volcano carried a large amount with it sulfur dioxideThat reflects radiation is often studied as part of potential geoengineering interventions to slow climate change.
The effect from Pinatubo continued in 1991 Two years. After the Hong Tong eruption, scientists believed that the eruption would have a positive effect on lowering the average temperature on Earth.
Subsequent measurements, however, revealed that this time the volcanic cloud contained only about 2%. Compared to the Philippine volcano’s clouds, sulfur dioxide is not enough to cool the climate. Moreover, the amount of water sprayed into the stratosphere during an explosion can go … warm.
“The water in the stratosphere generally warms the Earth’s surface,” explains Proud. We’ll see the impact of the explosion in the next few years. “We have very accurate temperature data in the lower atmosphere, so we should be able to detect it very quickly,” he said in an interview with space.com.
It is estimated that Hong Tonga “injected” an equivalent value into the Earth’s atmosphere 58 thousand Olympic swimming poolspotentially increasing the amount of water vapor in the stratosphere by five percent.
According to Proud, the effects on the atmosphere may be more subtle and may have some interesting side effects. The mesosphere is usually the driest layer in the atmosphere, and putting more water in there could mean we’re getting more Polar mesospheric clouds – said the study author.
He concluded, “These clouds are becoming more common anyway, possibly due to climate change.” Any increase in the frequency of their occurrence can be demonstrated by analysis of satellite data, which Proud intends to monitor closely.
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