In Situ Observations of Aerosol and Chlorine Monoxide After the 1991 Eruption of Mount Pinatubo: Effect of Reactions on Sulfate Aerosol

Wilson, J. C.; Jonsson, H. H.; Brock, C. A.; Toohey, D. W.; Avallone, L. M.; Baumgardner, Darrel; Dye, J. E.; Poole, L. R.; Woods, David C.; DeCoursey, Robert J.; Osborn, M. T.; Pitts, Mıchael; Kelly, K. K.; Chan, K. R.; Ferry, G. V.; Loewenstein, M.; Podolske, James R.; Weaver, A.

doi:10.1126/science.261.5125.1140

Cited by 86 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…In the stratosphere, chemical and micro-physical processes convert SO 2 into sub-micrometer sulfate particles. This has been observed in volcanic eruptions e.g., Mount Pinatubo in June, 1991, which injected some 10 Tg S, initially as SO 2 , into the tropical stratosphere (Wilson et al, 1993;Bluth et al, 1992). In this case enhanced reflection of solar radiation to space by the particles cooled the earth's surface on average by 0.5 • C in the year following the eruption (Lacis and Mishchenko, 1995).…”

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confidence: 96%

“…For the climate engineering experiment, in which the cooling effect of all tropospheric anthropogenic aerosol is removed, yielding a radiative heating of 1.4 W/m 2 (Crutzen and Ramanathan, 2003), a stratospheric loading of almost 2 Tg S, and an input of 1-2 Tg S/yr is required, depending on stratospheric residence times. In this case, stratospheric sulfate injections would be 5 times less than after the Mount Pinatubo eruption, leading to much smaller production of ozone-destroying Cl and ClO radicals, whose formation depends on particle surface-catalyzed heterogeneous reactions (Wilson, 1993). Compensating for a CO 2 doubling would lead to larger ozone loss but not as large as after Mount Pinatubo.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Albedo Enhancement by Stratospheric Sulfur Injections: A Contribution to Resolve a Policy Dilemma?

2006

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Albedo Enhancement by Stratospheric Sulfur Injections: A Contribution to Resolve a Policy Dilemma?

2006

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“…Stratospheric aerosol hosts heterogeneous reactions that occur in proportion to the available aerosol surface area and impact the abundance of ozone and other species (Fahey et al, 1993;Wilson et al, 1993;Wennberg et al, 1994). Aerosol also scatters some incoming solar radiation back into space.…”

Section: Importance Of Stratospheric Aerosolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Steady-state aerosol distributions in the extra-tropical, lower stratosphere and the processes that maintain them

et al. 2008

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Abstract. Measurements of aerosol, N 2 O and OCS made in the Northern Hemisphere below 21 km altitude following the eruption of Pinatubo are presented and analyzed. After September 1999, the oxidation of OCS and sedimentation of particles in the extra-tropical overworld north of 45 N are found to maintain the aerosol in a steady state. This analysis empirically links precursor gas to aerosol abundance throughout this region. These processes are tracked with ageof-air which offers advantages over tracking as a function of latitude and altitude. In the extra-tropical, lowermost stratosphere, normalized volume distributions appear constant in time after the fall of 1999. Exchange with the troposphere is important in understanding aerosol evolution there. Size distributions of volcanically perturbed aerosol are included to distinguish between volcanic and non-volcanic conditions. This analysis suggests that model failures to correctly predict OCS and aerosol properties below 20 km in the Northern Hemisphere extra tropics result from inadequate descriptions of atmospheric circulation.

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“…(b) Ozone losses for the same temperatures as in a but with volcanic aerosols included. We increased sulfate volume mixing ratio (29) in the model from 0.17 ppbv (nonvolcanic) to 20 ppbv (volcanic) to account for volcanic aerosol effects on ozone. We used the Integrated MicroPhysics and Aerosol Chemistry on Trajectories (IMPACT) model in a quasi-three-dimensional mode (15,16) to obtain the results shown.…”

Section: Volcanic Aerosol Effectsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Arctic “ozone hole” in a cold volcanic stratosphere

Tabazadeh

Drdla

Schoeberl

et al. 2002

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Optical depth records indicate that volcanic aerosols from major eruptions often produce clouds that have greater surface area than typical Arctic polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). A trajectory cloudchemistry model is used to study how volcanic aerosols could affect springtime Arctic ozone loss processes, such as chlorine activation and denitrification, in a cold winter within the current range of natural variability. Several studies indicate that severe denitrification can increase Arctic ozone loss by up to 30%. We show large PSC particles that cause denitrification in a nonvolcanic stratosphere cannot efficiently form in a volcanic environment. However, volcanic aerosols, when present at low altitudes, where Arctic PSCs cannot form, can extend the vertical range of chemical ozone loss in the lower stratosphere. Chemical processing on volcanic aerosols over a 10-km altitude range could increase the current levels of springtime column ozone loss by up to 70% independent of denitrification. Climate models predict that the lower stratosphere is cooling as a result of greenhouse gas built-up in the troposphere. The magnitude of column ozone loss calculated here for the 1999 -2000 Arctic winter, in an assumed volcanic state, is similar to that projected for a colder future nonvolcanic stratosphere in the 2010 decade.E ruptions with a volcanic explosivity index (VEI) of 4 or higher produce significant stratospheric injections (1, 2). Sulfur dioxide (2), the most important atmospheric component of volcanic emissions, is converted into sulfate aerosols after injection into the stratosphere. More than 100 eruptions with VEIs Ն 4 are thought to have occurred in the past 500 years (1). However, only about half of all large eruptions are sulfur-rich (2, 3). Both the 1982 El Chichon (VEI ϭ 4) (4) and 1991 Mt. Pinatubo (VEI ϭ 5) (5) eruptions were sulfur-rich, producing volcanic clouds in the stratosphere that lasted for a number of years (6). On the other hand, the relatively sulfur-poor eruption of Mt. St. Helens (VEI ϭ 5) (2, 7) in 1980 contributed very little sulfate mass to the stratospheric aerosol layer (6). The fact that Mt. St. Helens' plume was emitted at an angle also reduced the amount of possible stratospheric injections by this volcano. Nevertheless, large sulfate-rich eruptions are common (6). Therefore, it is important to understand to what extent these eruptions could affect the Arctic ozone layer in the next 30 years or so, while anthropogenic chlorine levels are still sufficiently high [Ϸ3 parts per billion in volume (ppbv)] to cause severe ozone depletion (8, 9).Model simulations (10) have shown that the early rapid growth of the Antarctic ''ozone hole'' in the early 1980s may have been influenced (in part) by a number of large volcanic eruptions. The goal of this study is to explore how a large eruption could affect Arctic ozone loss processes, such as chlorine activation and denitrification, in a cold year within the current range of natural variability. It is projected that the Arctic climate may be ...

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In Situ Observations of Aerosol and Chlorine Monoxide After the 1991 Eruption of Mount Pinatubo: Effect of Reactions on Sulfate Aerosol

Cited by 86 publications

References 27 publications

Albedo Enhancement by Stratospheric Sulfur Injections: A Contribution to Resolve a Policy Dilemma?

Albedo Enhancement by Stratospheric Sulfur Injections: A Contribution to Resolve a Policy Dilemma?

Steady-state aerosol distributions in the extra-tropical, lower stratosphere and the processes that maintain them

Arctic “ozone hole” in a cold volcanic stratosphere

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