Tracing the Trail of the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Aerosol Plume: Two Years On

On 15 January 2022, the submarine Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcanic eruption lofted materials high into the upper stratosphere, reaching a record-breaking altitude of ~58 km, unprecedented in the satellite observations era. Within two weeks, the bulk of the injected material circulated the globe between 20 – 30 km altitude, as observed by the OMPS LP instrument.

In this study, we investigate the early stages of plume evolution, transport, and optical properties using data from various space-based observations, including OMPS LP and SAGE III/ISS. Additionally, we utilize OMPS LP measurements to monitor the plume's meridional dispersion, illustrating the volcanic aerosol's early transport towards lower altitudes in the southern hemisphere pole, and its progression to the northern hemisphere pole by April. In May, transport towards the southern hemisphere intensifies due to changes in the Brower-Dobson circulation. Subsequently, by August, the aerosol infiltrates the polar vortex below 400K, and by November, the aerosol layer transport shifts towards the northern hemisphere.

Furthermore, we will provide an update on the stratospheric aerosol distribution inside the 2023 SH polar vortex, which is expected to play a significant role in this year's ozone hole formation