The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption as Seen in Satellite Microwave Observations and MiRS Temperature Retrievals

Yong Keun Lee; Neil Hindley; Christopher Grassotti; Quanhua Liu

doi:10.1029/2023GL106439

The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption as Seen in Satellite Microwave Observations and MiRS Temperature Retrievals

Yong Keun Lee, Neil Hindley, Christopher Grassotti, Quanhua Liu

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The strongest volcanic eruption since the 19th century occurred on 15 January 2022 at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, generating unprecedented atmospheric waves not seen before in observations. We used satellite microwave observations from (a) Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-20 and the Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) and (b) Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU)-A on board Meteorological operational satellite (MetOp)-B/MetOp-C to study these waves in the stratosphere immediately after the eruption. The NOAA Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MiRS) was applied to these microwave observations to produce atmospheric temperature profiles. The atmospheric Lamb wave and fast-traveling gravity waves are clearly revealed in both the brightness temperatures and the MiRS retrieved temperatures, revealing their vertical phase structures. This study is the first attempt to perform a detailed analysis of the stratospheric impact of the Tonga eruption on operational satellite microwave observations and the corresponding MiRS retrievals.

Original language	English
Article number	e2023GL106439
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Volume	50
Issue number	23
Early online date	6 Dec 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GL106439
Publication status	Published - 16 Dec 2023

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023. The Authors.

Funding

This work is supported by NOAA under Grant NA19NES4320002 to the Cooperative Institute for Satellite and Earth system Studies (CISESS) at the University of Maryland/Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC). The manuscript contents are solely the opinions of the authors and do not constitute a statement of policy, decision, or position on behalf of NOAA or the U.S. government.

Funders	Funder number
Cooperative Institute for Satellite and Earth system Studies
ESSIC
University of Maryland/Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	NA19NES4320002

Keywords

atmospheric waves
MiRS
satellite microwave measurements
stratosphere
Tonga volcano

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geophysics
General Earth and Planetary Sciences

Access to Document

10.1029/2023GL106439Licence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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abstract = "The strongest volcanic eruption since the 19th century occurred on 15 January 2022 at Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai, generating unprecedented atmospheric waves not seen before in observations. We used satellite microwave observations from (a) Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) on board the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-20 and the Suomi-National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) and (b) Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU)-A on board Meteorological operational satellite (MetOp)-B/MetOp-C to study these waves in the stratosphere immediately after the eruption. The NOAA Microwave Integrated Retrieval System (MiRS) was applied to these microwave observations to produce atmospheric temperature profiles. The atmospheric Lamb wave and fast-traveling gravity waves are clearly revealed in both the brightness temperatures and the MiRS retrieved temperatures, revealing their vertical phase structures. This study is the first attempt to perform a detailed analysis of the stratospheric impact of the Tonga eruption on operational satellite microwave observations and the corresponding MiRS retrievals.",

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AU - Liu, Quanhua

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The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai Volcanic Eruption as Seen in Satellite Microwave Observations and MiRS Temperature Retrievals

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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