Abstract
Following the 15 January 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption,
several trace gases measured by the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder
displayed anomalous stratospheric values. Trajectories and radiance
simulations confirm that the H2O, SO2, and HCl enhancements were
injected by the eruption. In comparison with those from previous
eruptions, the SO2 and HCl injections were unexceptional, although they
reached higher altitudes. In contrast, the H2O injection was
unprecedented in both magnitude (far exceeding any previous values in
the 17-year MLS record) and altitude (penetrating into the mesosphere).
We estimate the mass of H2O injected into the stratosphere to be 146+-5
Tg - ~10% of the stratospheric burden. It may take
several years for the H2O plume to dissipate. This eruption could impact
climate not through surface cooling due to sulfate aerosols, but rather
through surface warming due to the radiative forcing from the excess
stratospheric H2O.