Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics (Apr 2024)
Gravity waves generated by the Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha′apai volcanic eruption and their global propagation in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere observed by meteor radars and modeled with the High-Altitude general Mechanistic Circulation Model
- G. Stober,
- G. Stober,
- S. L. Vadas,
- E. Becker,
- A. Liu,
- A. Kozlovsky,
- D. Janches,
- Z. Qiao,
- W. Krochin,
- W. Krochin,
- G. Shi,
- G. Shi,
- W. Yi,
- J. Zeng,
- J. Zeng,
- J. Zeng,
- P. Brown,
- P. Brown,
- D. Vida,
- N. Hindley,
- C. Jacobi,
- D. Murphy,
- R. Buriti,
- V. Andrioli,
- V. Andrioli,
- P. Batista,
- J. Marino,
- S. Palo,
- D. Thorsen,
- M. Tsutsumi,
- M. Tsutsumi,
- N. Gulbrandsen,
- S. Nozawa,
- M. Lester,
- K. Baumgarten,
- J. Kero,
- E. Belova,
- N. Mitchell,
- N. Mitchell,
- T. Moffat-Griffin,
- N. Li
Affiliations
- G. Stober
- Microwave Physics, Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- G. Stober
- Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- S. L. Vadas
- North West Research Associates (NWRA), Boulder, Colorado, USA
- E. Becker
- North West Research Associates (NWRA), Boulder, Colorado, USA
- A. Liu
- Center for Space and Atmospheric Research, Department of Physical Sciences, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
- A. Kozlovsky
- Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- D. Janches
- ITM Physics Laboratory, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, USA
- Z. Qiao
- Center for Space and Atmospheric Research, Department of Physical Sciences, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Florida, USA
- W. Krochin
- Microwave Physics, Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- W. Krochin
- Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- G. Shi
- Microwave Physics, Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- G. Shi
- Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- W. Yi
- CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment/CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Anhui Mengcheng Geophysics National Observation and Research Station, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- J. Zeng
- Microwave Physics, Institute of Applied Physics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- J. Zeng
- Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- J. Zeng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Geospace Environment/CAS Center for Excellence in Comparative Planetology, Anhui Mengcheng Geophysics National Observation and Research Station, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China
- P. Brown
- Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- P. Brown
- Western Institute for Earth and Space Exploration, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- D. Vida
- Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
- N. Hindley
- Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- C. Jacobi
- Institute for Meteorology, Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- D. Murphy
- Australian Antarctic Division, Kingston, Tasmania, Australia
- R. Buriti
- Department of Physics, Federal University of Campina Grande, Campina Grande, Brazil
- V. Andrioli
- Aeronomy Division, National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, Brazil
- V. Andrioli
- China-Brazil Joint Laboratory for Space Weather, NSSC/INPE, São José dos Campos, Brazil
- P. Batista
- Aeronomy Division, National Institute for Space Research (INPE), São José dos Campos, Brazil
- J. Marino
- Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- S. Palo
- Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- D. Thorsen
- College of Engineering and Mines, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, USA
- M. Tsutsumi
- National Institute of Polar Research, Tachikawa, Japan
- M. Tsutsumi
- The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Tokyo, Japan
- N. Gulbrandsen
- Tromsø Geophysical Observatory, UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway
- S. Nozawa
- Institute for Space-Earth Environmental Research, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan
- M. Lester
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK
- K. Baumgarten
- Smart Ocean Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS, Rostock, Germany
- J. Kero
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna, Sweden
- E. Belova
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna, Sweden
- N. Mitchell
- British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK
- N. Mitchell
- Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, UK
- T. Moffat-Griffin
- British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, CB3 0ET, UK
- N. Li
- National Key Laboratory of Electromagnetic Environment, China Research Institute of Radiowave Propagation, Qingdao, China
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-24-4851-2024
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 24
pp. 4851 – 4873
Abstract
The Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha′apai volcano erupted on 15 January 2022, launching Lamb waves and gravity waves into the atmosphere. In this study, we present results using 13 globally distributed meteor radars and identify the volcanogenic gravity waves in the mesospheric/lower thermospheric winds. Leveraging the High-Altitude Mechanistic general Circulation Model (HIAMCM), we compare the global propagation of these gravity waves. We observed an eastward-propagating gravity wave packet with an observed phase speed of 240 ± 5.7 m s−1 and a westward-propagating gravity wave with an observed phase speed of 166.5 ± 6.4 m s−1. We identified these waves in HIAMCM and obtained very good agreement of the observed phase speeds of 239.5 ± 4.3 and 162.2 ± 6.1 m s−1 for the eastward the westward waves, respectively. Considering that HIAMCM perturbations in the mesosphere/lower thermosphere were the result of the secondary waves generated by the dissipation of the primary gravity waves from the volcanic eruption, this affirms the importance of higher-order wave generation. Furthermore, based on meteor radar observations of the gravity wave propagation around the globe, we estimate the eruption time to be within 6 min of the nominal value of 15 January 2022 04:15 UTC, and we localized the volcanic eruption to be within 78 km relative to the World Geodetic System 84 coordinates of the volcano, confirming our estimates to be realistic.
