HR: 11:30h
AN: A11G-05 INVITED     [PDF]
TI: TOMS and Volcanic SO$_{2}$: an Important aid to the Understanding of Volcanism and the Atmosphere
AU: * Rose, W I
EM: raman@mtu.edu
AF: Geological Engineering \& Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931 United States
AU: Bluth, G J
EM: gbluth@mtu.edu
AF: Geological Engineering \& Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931 United States
AB: It is impossible to measure gas fluxes from the ground in a major volcanic event, but the TOMS instrument provided the first quantitative measurements of individual stratospheric eruptions, because SO$_{2}$ could be measured as well as O$_{3}$. The measurements were quickly noticed by scientists, because the masses of sulfur erupted often far exceeded what they expected to find, based on petrology and its supposed constraints, by surprising factors of 10 to 100. This result is still not well understood, and is an important driving idea for volcanologic research. TOMS was applied globally and the explosive volcanic flux of SO$_{2}$ to the atmosphere was compiled for the first time using direct measurements --an important input to earth systems analysis. Comparison of TOMS volcanic cloud SO$_{2}$ maps with infrared volcanic ash cloud maps showed that there is often spatial separation of gas-rich volcanic clouds emplaced higher in the atmosphere and ash-rich clouds which are lower and which drift in different directions because of windshears. Sequential examination of TOMS data showed that SO$_{2}$ masses in volcanic clouds increases for 24 hours or more after eruption. The best explanation of this increase is that ice which forms early in volcanic clouds captures SO$_{2}$ which is then released again as the stratospheric ice sublimes. The presentation will document all of the best examples of the discoveries listed above. Volcanologists and those interested in the mitigation of volcanic cloud hazards have repeatedly suggested that geostationary SO$_{2}$ and ash sensing capability at higher spatial resolution would provide important new science opportunities. The sensors of the next remote sensing era (MODIS, ASTER, SEVIRI, OMI, ABI) bring us closer to achieving these goals.
UR: http://skye.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html
DE: 0370 Volcanic effects (8409)
DE: 6061 Remote sensing
DE: 8419 Eruption monitoring (7280)
DE: 8439 Physics and chemistry of magma bodies
DE: 8450 Planetary volcanism (5480)
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting