Research on the regional response of the atmosphere to volcanic eruptions

E.A. Polyanskaya*, S.V. Morozova**, N.V. Korotkova***

Saratov State University, Saratov, 410012 Russia

E-mail: *kafmeo@mail.ru, **swetwl@yandex.ru, ***fonadia@yandex.ru

Received June 17, 2021

 

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

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DOI: 10.26907/2542-064X.2021.4.643-654

For citation: Polyanskaya E.A., Morozova S.V., Korotkova N.V. Research on the regional response of the atmosphere to volcanic eruptions. Uchenye Zapiski Kazanskogo Universiteta. Seriya Estestvennye Nauki, 2021, vol. 163, no. 4, pp. 643–654. doi: 10.26907/2542-064X.2021.4.643-654. (In Russian)

Abstract

This article considers height-related changes in air temperature, relative humidity, and dew point on the standard isobaric surfaces before and after volcanic eruptions. Five volcanoes that have erupted in the last 35 years were selected for analysis: Eyjafjallajökull, Etna, Grímsvötn, Ruiz, and Klyuchevskaya Sopka. For each volcano under study, the characteristics of the atmospheric state were chosen according to the data recorded at the aerological station closest to the eruption area. A local reaction of the thermodynamic state of the atmosphere to the volcanic eruption was noticed. After the volcanic eruption, the air temperature drops most considerably in a layer from 3 to 5 kilometers (by an average of 7–9°C), and the relative humidity is higher than before the eruption (by an average of 15–20%) in the layer from 3 km to the tropopause. From the Earth to 1.5 km, the dew point values before the eruption are greater than after it. Above 1.5 kilometers, the dew point values, on the contrary, increase after the eruption. In the area of the volcanic eruption, a drop in the heights of the standard isobaric surfaces occurs. However, such changes in the geopotential heights cause no synoptic-scale disturbances.

Keywords: volcanic eruptions, influence of volcanoes on climate, atmosphere reaction, volcanic activity, regional response

Figure Captions

Fig. 1. Height-related changes in the air temperature before and after the volcanic eruption (for Eyjafjallajökull volcano).

Fig. 2. Height-related changes in the relative humidity before and after the volcanic eruption (for Eyjafjallajökull volcano).

Fig. 3. Height-related changes in dew point with height before and after the volcanic eruption (for Zyafjallajökull volcano).

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