Stratospheric water vapor from the Hunga Tonga - Hunga Ha'apai volcanic
eruption deduced from COSMIC-2 radio occultation
Abstract
The eruption of the Hunga Tonga – Hunga Ha’apai (HTHH) volcano on
January 15, 2022 injected large amounts of water vapor directly into the
stratosphere. While normal background levels of stratospheric water
vapor are not detectable in radio occultation (RO) measurements, effects
of the HTHH eruption are clearly observed as anomalous refractivity
profiles from COSMIC-2, suggesting the possibility of detecting the HTHH
water vapor signal. To separate temperature vs. water vapor effects on
refractivity, we use co-located temperature observations from the
Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) to constrain a simplified water vapor
retrieval. Our results show enhancements of water vapor up to
~1500-2300 ppmv in the stratosphere
(~29-33 km) in the days following the HTHH eruption,
with propagating patterns that follow the dispersing volcanic plume. The
stratospheric water vapor profiles derived from RO are in reasonable
agreement with limited radiosonde observations over Australia.