Observation of volcanic ash from Puyehue–Cordón Caulle with IASI

L Klüser,J Meyer-Arnek,T Erbertseder

doi:10.5194/amt-6-35-2013

Abstract

Abstract. On 4 June 2011 an eruption of the Chilean volcano complex Puyehue–Cordón Caulle injected large amounts of volcanic ash into the atmosphere and affected local life as well as hemisphere-wide air traffic. Observations of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) flown on board of the MetOp satellite have been exploited to analyze the evolution of the ash plume around the Southern Hemisphere. A novel singular vector-based retrieval methodology, originally developed for observation of desert dust over land and ocean, has been adapted to enable remote sensing of volcanic ash. Since IASI observations in the 8–12 μm window are applied in the retrieval, the method is insensitive to solar illumination and therefore yields twice the observation rate of the ash plume evolution compared to solar backscatter methods from polar orbiting satellites. The retrieval scheme, the emission characteristics and the circumpolar transport of the ash are examined by means of a source–receptor analysis.

Highlights

Volcanic eruptions can emit large quantities of ash particles and gases, such as H2O, CO2 or SO2, into the atmosphere
A method previously developed for desert dust remote sensing with Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) has been adapted for retrieving infrared optical depth of volcanic ash plumes
The volcanic ash retrieval method uses extinction spectra of different mineral components found in volcanic ash rather than fixed “bulk-ash” refractive indices

Summary

Introduction

Volcanic eruptions can emit large quantities of ash particles and gases, such as H2O, CO2 or SO2, into the atmosphere. The eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjalla in March and April 2010 and the closure of the European air space has clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of the economy to such an air disaster (Zehner, 2010) It has demonstrated the importance of satellite data for tracking and early warning of volcanic emissions and, in particular, ash plumes. The Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) on MetOp has been applied to observe volcanic SO2 and to successfully detect volcanic ash, e.g. from the Chaiten (Chile, 2008), Kasatochi (Aleutian Islands, 2008) and Eyjafjalla (Iceland, 2010) eruptions (e.g. Clarisse et al, 2008, 2012; Gangale et al, 2010; Karagulian et al, 2010).

The SVD based volcanic ash retrieval method from IASI

Observation and analysis of the ash plume

Jun 6 Jun 7 Jun 8 Jun 9 Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun Jun

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion and outlook