Research on the regional response of the atmosphere to volcanic eruptions

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