Observations of nucleation of new particles in a volcanic plume

Boulon, J.; Sellegri, Karine; Hervo, Maxime; Laj, Paolo

doi:10.1073/pnas.1104923108

Cited by 48 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…In addition, concentrations of the total number of particles (Diameter > 10 nm) measured by the CPC 3010 increased significantly. This was related to sulphuric acid droplet nucleation events as suggested by Schumann et al (2011) and shown by Boulon et al (2011). Altogether, these data clearly indicate that volcanic ash were present in the boundary layer at the PdD station.…”

Section: In-situ Measurements At Pddsupporting

confidence: 57%

Physical and optical properties of 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption aerosol: ground-based, Lidar and airborne measurements in France

et al. 2012

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Abstract. During the Eyjafjallajökull eruption (14 April to 24 May 2010), the volcanic aerosol cloud was observed across Europe by several airborne in situ and ground-based remote-sensing instruments. On 18 and 19 May, layers of depolarizing particles (i.e. non-spherical particles) were detected in the free troposphere above the Puy de Dôme station, (PdD, France) with a Rayleigh-Mie LIDAR emitting at a wavelength of 355 nm, with parallel and crossed polarization channels. These layers in the free troposphere (FT) were also well captured by simulations with the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART, which furthermore showed that the ash was eventually entrained into the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Indeed, the ash cloud was then detected and characterized with a comprehensive set of in situ instruments at the Puy de Dôme station (PdD). In agreement with the FLEXPART simulation, up to 65 µg m −3 of particle mass and 2.2 ppb of SO 2 were measured at PdD, corresponding to concentrations higher than the 95 percentile of 2 yr of measurements at PdD. Moreover, the number concentration of particles increased to 24 000 cm −3 , mainly in the submicronic mode, but a supermicronic mode was also detected with a modal diameter of 2 µm. The resulting optical properties of the ash aerosol were characterized by a low scatteringÅngström exponent (0.98), showing the presence of supermicronic particles. For the first time to our knowledge, the combination of in situ optical and physical characterization of the volcanic ash allowed the calculation of the mass-to-extinction ratio (η) with no assumptions on the aerosol density. The mass-to-extinction ratio was found to be significantly different from the background boundary layer aerosol (max: 1.57 g m −2 as opposed to 0.33 ± 0.03 g m −2 ). Using this ratio, ash mass concentration in the volcanic plume derived from LIDAR measurements was found to be 655 ± 23 µg m −3 when the plume was located in the FT (3000 m above the sea level -a.s.l.).This ratio could also be used to retrieve an aerosol mass concentration of 579 ± 60 µg m −3 on 19 April, when LIDAR observations detected the ash cloud at 3000 m a.s.l. in correspondence with model simulations (FLEXPART). On 22 April, another ash plume entered the BL, and although it was more diluted than during the May episode, the French research aircraft ATR42 that passed over Clermont-Ferrand in the PBL confirmed the presence of particles with a supermicronic mode, again with a modal diameter at 2 µm.This data set combining airborne, ground-based and remote sensing observations with dispersion model simulations shows an overall very good coherence during the volcanic eruption period, which allows a good confidence in the characteristics of the ash particles that can be derived from this unique data set.Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. M. Hervo et al.: Ground-based, Lidar and airborne measurements of volcanic ashes in France

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Section: In-situ Measurements At Pddsupporting

confidence: 57%

Physical and optical properties of 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption aerosol: ground-based, Lidar and airborne measurements in France

et al. 2012

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“…We found that including BLN reduces the relative increase in CDNC due to volcanic degassing because baseline CDNC are higher than in the PD no vol run that neglected BLN. Consequently, we calculate a global annual mean cloud albedo effect that is ∼12 % lower than that calculated for the PD runs without BLN, which is in contrast to what has been concluded by Boulon et al (2011). Clearly, Boulon et al (2011) made an important observation, however as long as we do not fully understand the precise nucleation mechanism operating, no conclusive statement can be made regarding the importance of BLN in affecting the magnitude of the climate impact of volcanic degassing.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 46%

“…Therefore, the comparison of our model estimate to the Yuan et al (2011) study is for qualitative purposes only. Boulon et al (2011) suggested that using a binary homogeneous H 2 SO 4 -H 2 O nucleation scheme (Kulmala et al, 1998), as has been done in our study, will underestimate the climate impact induced by volcanic degassing because these authors observed very high nucleation rates in the boundary layer following the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption. We carried out additional PD runs that included a widely used empirical approach to account for boundary layer nucleation (BLN) (e.g., Spracklen et al, 2006Spracklen et al, , 2010Merikanto et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Yuan et al (2011) showed that sulphur emissions emitted from Kilauea's Halema'uma'u Crater on Hawaii affect trade cumulus cloud amount as far as 6000 km downwind of the volcanic source and cause a regional total shortwave radiative forcing of up to −20 W m −2 . Boulon et al (2011) provided the first observational evidence of the occurrence of aerosol nucleation in the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) volcanic plume at a station more than 2500 km downwind of the volcanic vent. Hence, volcanic degassing has a strong potential to impact cloud amounts and cloud microphysical properties in the troposphere far away from the actual eruption site.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Importance of tropospheric volcanic aerosol for indirect radiative forcing of climate

et al. 2012

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Abstract.Observations and models have shown that continuously degassing volcanoes have a potentially large effect on the natural background aerosol loading and the radiative state of the atmosphere. We use a global aerosol microphysics model to quantify the impact of these volcanic emissions on the cloud albedo radiative forcing under pre-industrial (PI) and present-day (PD) conditions. We find that volcanic degassing increases global annual mean cloud droplet number concentrations by 40 % under PI conditions, but by only 10 % under PD conditions. Consequently, volcanic degassing causes a global annual mean cloud albedo effect of −1.06 W m −2 in the PI era but only −0.56 W m −2 in the PD era. This non-equal effect is explained partly by the lower background aerosol concentrations in the PI era, but also because more aerosol particles are produced per unit of volcanic sulphur emission in the PI atmosphere. The higher sensitivity of the PI atmosphere to volcanic emissions has an important consequence for the anthropogenic cloud radiative forcing because the large uncertainty in volcanic emissions translates into an uncertainty in the PI baseline cloud radiative state. Assuming a −50/+100 % uncertainty range in the volcanic sulphur flux, we estimate the annual mean anthropogenic cloud albedo forcing to lie between −1.16 W m −2 and −0.86 W m −2 . Therefore, the volcanically induced uncertainty in the PI baseline cloud radiative state substantially adds to the already large uncertainty in the magnitude of the indirect radiative forcing of climate.

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“…Schumann et al (2011) found the same fine secondary particles adhering to the surfaces of many coarse particles. In the presence of a large number of pre-existing ash particles, in fact, the energetically favoured path for gases is to condense onto particle surfaces, rather than forming new ones through the nucleation of sulphuric acid droplets, as suggested by Schumann et al (2011) and shown by Boulon et al (2011). We argue that, in this process, the large number of coarse particles observed on 18 May, 3 times higher than in April (Fig.…”

Section: Case 2: 18-20 May 2010mentioning

confidence: 73%

In situ physical and chemical characterisation of the Eyjafjallajökull aerosol plume in the free troposphere over Italy

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Continuous measurements of physical and chemical properties at the Mt. Cimone (Italy) GAW-WMO (Global Atmosphere Watch, World Meteorological Organization) Global Station (2165 m a.s.l.) have allowed the detection of the volcanic aerosol plume resulting from the Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) eruption of spring 2010. The event affected the Mt. Cimone site after a transport over a distance of more than 3000 km. Two main transport episodes were detected during the eruption period, showing a volcanic fingerprint discernible against the free tropospheric background conditions typical of the site, the first from April 19 to 21 and the second from 18 to 20 May 2010. This paper reports the modification of aerosol characteristics observed during the two episodes, both characterised by an abrupt increase in fine and, especially, coarse mode particle number.Analysis of major, minor and trace elements by different analytical techniques (ionic chromatography, particle induced X-ray emission-particle induced gamma-ray emission (PIXE-PIGE) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS)) were performed on aerosols collected by ground-level discrete sampling. The resulting database allows the characterisation of aerosol chemical composition during the volcanic plume transport and in background conditions. During the passage of the volcanic plume, the fine fraction was dominated by sulphates, denoting the secondary origin of this mode, mainly resulting from in-plume oxidation of volcanic SO 2 . By contrast, the coarse fraction was characterised by increased concentration of numerous elements of crustal origin, such as Fe, Ti, Mn, Ca, Na, and Mg, which enter the composition of silicate minerals. Data analysis of selected elements (Ti, Al, Fe, Mn) allowed the estimation of the volcanic plume's contribution to total PM 10 , resulting in a local enhancement of up to 9.5 µg m −3 , i.e. 40 % of total PM 10 on 18 May, which was the most intense of the two episodes. These results appear significant, especially in light of the huge distance of Mt. Cimone from the source, confirming the widespread diffusion of the Eyjafjallajökull ashes over Europe.

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Observations of nucleation of new particles in a volcanic plume

Cited by 48 publications

References 30 publications

Physical and optical properties of 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption aerosol: ground-based, Lidar and airborne measurements in France

Physical and optical properties of 2010 Eyjafjallajökull volcanic eruption aerosol: ground-based, Lidar and airborne measurements in France

Importance of tropospheric volcanic aerosol for indirect radiative forcing of climate

In situ physical and chemical characterisation of the Eyjafjallajökull aerosol plume in the free troposphere over Italy

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