Significant radiative impact of volcanic aerosol in the lowermost stratosphere.

Sandra Andersson, Bengt Martinsson, Jean-Paul Vernier, Johan Friberg, Carl A M Brenninkmeijer, Markus Hermann, Peter F J van Velthoven, Andreas Zahn

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Despite their potential to slow global warming, until recently, the radiative forcing associated with volcanic aerosols in the lowermost stratosphere (LMS) had not been considered. Here we study volcanic aerosol changes in the stratosphere using lidar measurements from the NASA CALIPSO satellite and aircraft measurements from the IAGOS-CARIBIC observatory. Between 2008 and 2012 volcanism frequently affected the Northern Hemisphere stratosphere aerosol loadings, whereas the Southern Hemisphere generally had loadings close to background conditions. We show that half of the global stratospheric aerosol optical depth following the Kasatochi, Sarychev and Nabro eruptions is attributable to LMS aerosol. On average, 30% of the global stratospheric aerosol optical depth originated in the LMS during the period 2008-2011. On the basis of the two independent, high-resolution measurement methods, we show that the LMS makes an important contribution to the overall volcanic forcing.
Original languageEnglish
Article number7692
JournalNature Communications
Volume6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015

Bibliographical note

The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015.
The record was previously connected to the following departments: Nuclear Physics (Faculty of Technology) (011013007)

Subject classification (UKÄ)

  • Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences

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