Volcanic perturbation of the atmosphere in both polar regions: 1991–1994

Abstract

Long‐term measurements by sunphotometers of the spectral dependence of aerosol optical depth are reported for several sites in the Arctic and Antarctic for the period January 1991 through December 1994. In the Antarctic a pronounced increase of atmospheric turbidity was observed at the end of September 1991. The observed wavelength dependence in aerosol optical depth indicated that the increase was due to the presence of fresh and therefore small stratospheric aerosol particles associated with the eruption of Cerro Hudson in August 1991. After the breakdown of the polar vortex in mid‐November 1991 we measured a second significant increase of the aerosol optical depth. At this time the 1.0‐μm aerosol optical depth was approximately 0.12 or about 10 times background levels. This second increase is shown to be the result of the influx of Mount Pinatubo aerosols. A similar perturbation of the aerosol optical depth was observed in the Arctic with the return of sunlight in March 1992. However, the increased loading of the Arctic stratosphere by the Pinatubo aerosols was already evident at high northern latitudes in satellite measurements at the end of 1991. Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II stratospheric 1.0‐μm optical depth measurements show that meridional transport of Pinatubo aerosol from equatorial to middle and higher latitudes is greatest in the winter/spring hemisphere. This observation explains the observed seasonal trend of aerosol optical depth during the posteruption. A significant decrease of the perturbation by Mount Pinatubo aerosol was observed in both polar regions by the end of 1994. The measured 1.0μm aerosol optical depths at this time were only ≈0.04; these values exceed the background level by about 0.01–0.02. Therefore the aerosol optical depth values are still slightly higher than during undisturbed conditions. In addition, we show that the occurrence of volcanic aerosols caused changes in the spectral dependence of the aerosol optical depth in the Arctic and the Antarctic. These variations, including the changes in the aerosol size distribution, derived from the aerosol optical depth, are discussed in comparison to undisturbed conditions.