Statistical analysis of the long-range transport of the 2015 Calbuco volcanic plume from ground-based and space-borne observations

Abstract

Abstract. This study investigates the influence of the 2015 Calbuco eruption (41.2∘ S, 72.4∘ W; Chile) on the total columnar aerosol optical properties over the Southern Hemisphere. The well-known technic of sun photometry was applied for the investigation of the transport and spatio-temporal evolution of the optical properties of the volcanic plume. The CIMEL sun photometer measurements performed at six South American and three African sites were statistically analysed. This study involves the use of the satellite observations and a back-trajectory model. The passage of the Calbuco plume is statistically detectable in the aerosol optical depth (AOD) observations obtained from sun photometer and MODIS observations. This statistical detection confirms that the majority of the plume was transported over the northeastern parts of South America and reached the South African region 1 week after the eruption. The plume impacted the southern parts of South America to a lesser extent. The highest AOD anomalies were observed over the northeastern parts of South America. Over the South African sites, the AOD anomalies induced by the spread of the plume were quite homogeneously distributed between the east and west coasts. The optical characteristics of the plume near the source region were consistent with an ash-bearing plume. Conversely, sites further from the Calbuco volcano were influenced by ash-free plume. The optical properties discussed in this paper will be used as inputs for numerical models for further investigation of the ageing of the Calbuco plume in a forthcoming study.

Investigating the Long-Range Transport of Aerosol Plumes Following the Amazon Fires (August 2019): A Multi-Instrumental Approach from Ground-Based and Satellite Observations

“…It should be noted, however, that the daily AOD measured by MODIS appear to be lower than those obtained from ground-based observations by the sun-photometer. The obtained AOD distributions over São Paulo are in agreement with results reported by Bègue et al [12]. In their study, Bègue et al [12] found a mean bias error (MBE) between sun-photometer and MODIS observations of about 5.2%.…”

“…The obtained AOD distributions over São Paulo are in agreement with results reported by Bègue et al [12]. In their study, Bègue et al [12] found a mean bias error (MBE) between sun-photometer and MODIS observations of about 5.2%. The AOD distribution at Santa Cruz (shown in Figure 5b) is higher than at São Paulo during August and September.…”

“…Several authors reported on large-scale transport across the Atlantic in the southern hemisphere at different atmospheric layers [8,11,12,42,43]. However, despite the seasonality of Amazon fires, none of these studies reported on such long-distance transport from the Amazon basin to Indian Ocean.…”

“…In spite of the fact that the transport of aerosols is fairly well documented in several publications [8,[10][11][12][13], studies specifically investigating the long-range transport of the BB pollution from South America are sparse. Indeed, several questions on distribution of the aerosols and pollutants injected into the atmosphere, together with the associated long-range transport processes during the Southern America BB season require collaborative initiatives and multi-instrumental investigations.…”

Short-Term Meteorological and Environmental Signals Recorded in a Firn Core from a High-Accumulation Site on Plateau Laclavere, Antarctic Peninsula

“…Long-range transport of volcanic aerosols in the Southern Hemisphere also was observed after the Calbuco VEI 4 eruption in Southern Chile in April 2015 [67][68][69] that resulted in a record size of the ozone hole over Antarctica in October 2015 [70]. The volcanic aerosol plume of Calbuco was mainly advected eastward in the Southern Hemisphere (across northeastern South America and South Africa) latitudinally bounded by the subtropical barrier and the polar vortex, but potentially reached polar latitudes about 4 months after the eruption (60 • S) [67,68]. Fernandoy et al [31] showed that LCL clearly has been influenced by air masses originating over the South American continent during the preceding years 2008-2014.…”