Scientists recently reported that an underwater volcano eruption in the Pacific Ocean in January that was so massive it produced a global shock wave also emitted huge amounts of water vapor into the upper atmosphere where it may lead to a small, temporary spike in global warming.
A report from The New York Times specified that researchers also said that water vapor injected into the stratosphere by the volcanic eruption earlier this year, may have a slight, yet temporary warming effect.
The stratosphere is normally a pretty dry place. The Tonga eruption made it wetter, at least for a few years. https://t.co/WkGoviqaEH
— NYT Climate (@nytclimate) September 22, 2022
The said injection of what the scientists approximated was at least 55 million tons of water vapor into the stratosphere, may temporarily cause more depletion as well, of the protective ozone layer in the atmosphere, the researchers explained.
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai volcano eruption in the island nation of Tonga on January 15 was the most massive in decades.
A Unique Volcanic Occurrence
Such a large eruption spawned a tsunami that devastated portions of Tonga and smaller tsunamis thousands of miles far that resulted from changes in air pressures as the shock wave circled the globe.
Since it took place 500 feet underwater, the eruption of superheated molten rock caused seawater to flash explosively as well, explosively into stream.
A plume of water vapor, volcanic gases, and ashes reached a 35-mile altitude. That increased the amount of water vapor in the stratosphere, ending at an altitude of over 30 miles, by at least five percent.
According to senior scientist Holger Vömel, from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder Colo, the occurrence "is absolutely unique."
He added, it has not happened "since we've been capable of gauging stratospheric water vapor," which began about seven decades ago. Dr. Vömel is the lead author of the paper published in the Science journal.
Radiosondes Instruments
Similar to carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, water vapor is absorbing heat in an infrared radiation form from the surface of Earth and re-emits it.
Consequently, a large amount of water vapor would be expected to add to warming for many years until gas dissipated.
Massive eruptions of land-based volcanoes do not release much water vapor, although they can inject huge amounts of sulfur dioxide gas into the stratosphere, which can have a temporary cooling effect.
Following the most recent eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, average temperatures worldwide dropped by one degree Fahrenheit, for more than one year.
Additional Warming
Vömel also explained that any estimate of the amount of additional warming that the Tonga volcano eruption will add was highly theoretical at this point.
The study utilized data from a NASA satellite, which offers water vapor measurements worldwide on a daily basis.
Vömel, together with his colleagues, took a different method using data from instruments in tiny packages known as radiosondes that are carried aloft by balloons. Radiosondes, which are described on the National Weather Service webpage, are launched on a regular timetable, typically every 12 hours, at weather stations worldwide.
Related information about the Tonga eruption is shown on Reuters' YouTube video below:
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