LAUSR

Large volcanic eruptions, although rare events, can influence the chemistry and the dynamics of the stratosphere for several years after the eruption. Here we show that the eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai on 15 January 2022 injected at least 50 teragrams of water vapor directly into the stratosphere. This event raised the amount of water vapor in the developing stratospheric plume by several orders of magnitude and possibly increased the amount of global stratospheric water vapor by more than 5%. This extraordinary eruption may have initiated an atmospheric response different from that of previous well-studied large volcanic eruptions. Description Up in the air The eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai in January of 2022 was so violent that its plume penetrated into the stratosphere. Vömel et al. studied in situ measurements by radiosondes (weather balloons), which showed that the event injected at least 50 teragrams of water vapor into the stratosphere. Because the volcano was underwater, the amount of water vapor in the developing stratospheric plume was high, and, unlike other large eruptions, it may have increased the amount of global stratospheric water vapor by more than 5%. —HJS The eruption of the submarine volcano Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai added an extraordinary volume of water into the stratosphere.