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At least 271 records · Page 15
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NASA NTRS1982

Aircraft sampling of the sulfate layer near the tropopause following the eruption of Mount St. Helens

Twenty filter sampling flights of the NASA Lewis F-106 aircraft were conducted in the Great Lakes region between June 4 and August 8, 1980, following the major eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington on May 18. The IPC-1478 filters were exposed over an altitude range spanning the local tropopause. Quarter sections were analyzed for sulfate and nitrate by ion chromatography and selected samples were analyzed for chloride by selective ion electrode. Trace elements were searched by X-ray fluorescence analysis. A filter sample taken above the tropopause on June 5 indicated a sulfate level of 50 times the baseline measurements. Subsequent measurements over a period of 2 months showed an initial dropoff and formation of a persistent layer of sulfate above the tropopause with a concentration of 10 to 18 times previously measured background-levels. Concentrations of nitrate above the tropopause exhibited considerable variability and some enhancement compared with previously measured concentration levels. It is suggested that the source of the nitrate may also be volcanic as evidenced by its temporal relationship to the sulfate concentration changes. Based on the null results of X-ray fluorescence measurements, there is no evidence of ash particle concentrations greater than 3.4 microns g/cubic m persisting in the layer above the tropopause after the second transit of the cloud.

Lezberg, E. A.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Alteration of basaltic glasses from north-central British Columbia, Canada

The process of palagonitization in basaltic glasses from Pleistocene subglacial volcanics in the north-central British Columbia, Canada, is examined on the basis of results obtained from samples from three volcanoes located in the Tuya Range of Cassiar mountains: Ash Mountain, Southern Tuya, and Tuya Butte. The compositional changes from glass to palogonite, in particular with respect to Al content are described. Results of this study suggests that palagonitization is an isovolumetric replacement process in the British Coumbia hyaloclastites, in which glass is replaced by amorphous colloidal palagonite; the process is explained by the precipitation of insoluble material as critical nuclei under the conditions of supersaturation in the near-glass environment.

Jercinovic, M. J.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Effusive silicic volcanism in the Central Andes: The Chao dacite and other young lavas of the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex

The largest known Quaternary silicic lava body in the world is Cerro Chao in north Chile, a 14-km-long coulee with a volume of at least 26 cu km. It is the largest of a group of several closely similar dacitic lavas erupted during a recent (less than 100,000 year old) magmatic episode in the Altiplano-Puna Volcanic Complex (APVC; 21-24 deg S) of the Centra; Andean Volcanic Zone. The eruption of Chao proceeded in three phases. Phase 1 was explosive and produced approximately 1 cu km of coarse, nonwelded dacitic pumice deposits and later block and ash flows that form an apron in front of the main lava body. Phase 2 was dominantly effusive and erupted approximately 22.5 cu km of magma in the form of a composite coulee covering approximately 53 sq km with a 400-m-high flow front and a small cone of poorly expanded pumice around the vent. The lava is homogeneous with rare flow banding and vesicular tops and selvages. Ogives (flow ridges) reaching heights of 30 m form prominent features on its surface. Phase 3 produced a 6-km-long, 3-km-wide flow that emanated from a collapsed dome. Ogives are subdued, and the lava is glassier than that produced in previous phases. All the Chao products are crystal-rich high-K dacites and rhyodacites with phenocrysts of plagioclase, quartz, hornblende, biotite, sphene, rare snidine, and oxides. Phenocryst contents reach 40-60 vol % (vesicle free) in the main phase 2 lavas but are lower in the phase 1 (20-25%) and phase 3 (approximately 40%) lavas. Ovoid andesitic inclusions with vesicular interiors and chilled margins up to 10 cm are found in the later stages of phase 2 and compose up to 5% of the phase 3 lava. There is little evidence for preeruptive zonation of the magma body in composition, temperature (approximately 840 C), fO2 (19(exp -11), or water content, so we propose that eruption of the Chao complex was driven by intrusion of fresh, hot andesitic magma into a crystallizing and largely homogeneous body of dacitic magma. Morphological measurements suggest that the Chao lavas had internal plastic viscosities of 10(exp 10) to 10(exp 12) Pa s, apparent viscosities of 10(exp 9) Pa s, surface viscosities of 10(exp 15) to 10(exp 24) Pa s, and a yield strength of 8 x 10(exp 5) Pa. These estimates indicate that Chao would have exhibited largely similar rheological properties to other silicic lava extrusions, notwithstanding its high phenocryst content. We suggest that Chao's anomalous size is a function of both the relatively steep local slope (20 deg to 3 deg) and the available volume of magma. The eruption duration for Chao's emplacement is thought to have been about 100 to 150 years, with maximum effusion rates of about 25 cu m/s for short periods. Four other lavas in the vicinity with volumes of approximately 5 cu km closely resemble Chao and are probably comagnetic. The suite as a whole shares a petrologic and chemical similarity with the voluminous regional Tertiary to Pleistocene ignimbrites of the APVC and may be derived from a zone of silicic magmatism that is thought to have been active since the late Tertiary. Chao and the other young lavas may represent either the waning of this system or a new episode fueled by intrusions of mafic magma.

De Silva, S. L.↗
NASA NTRS2008

CALIPSO Observations of Volcanic Aerosol in the Stratosphere

In the stratosphere, the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) has observed the presence of aerosol plumes associated with the eruptions several volcanoes including Montserrat (May 2006), Chaiten (May 2008), and Kasatochi (August 2008). While the dense ash plumes from these eruptions dissipate relatively quickly, CALIPSO continued to detect an enhanced aerosol layer from the Montserrat eruption from the initial observations in June 2006 well into 2008. Solar occultation missions were uniquely capable of monitoring stratospheric aerosol. However, since the end of long-lived instruments like the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II), there has been no clear space-based successor instrument. A number of active instruments, some employing new techniques, are being evaluated as candidate sources of stratospheric aerosol data. Herein, we examine suitability of the CALIPSO 532-nm aerosol backscatter coefficient measurements.

Thomason, Larry W.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Evidence for the predictability of changes in the stratosphericaerosol size following volcanic eruptions of diverse magnitudesusing space-based instruments

An analysis of multiwavelength stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient data from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II and III/ISS instruments is used to demonstrate a coherent relationship between the perturbation in extinction coefficient in an eruption’s main aerosol layer and the wavelength dependence of that perturbation. This relationship spans multiple orders of magnitude in the aerosol extinction coefficient of stratospheric impact of volcanic events. The relationship is measurement-based and does not rely on assumptions about the aerosol size distribution. We note limitations on this analysis including that the presence of significant amounts of ash in the main sulfuric acid aerosol layer and other factors may significantly modulate these results. Despite these limitations, the findings suggest an avenue for improving aerosol extinction coefficient measurements from single-channel observations such as the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imager System as they rely on a prior assumptions about particle size. They may also represent a distinct avenue for the comparison of observations with interactive aerosol models used in global climate models and Earth system models.

Larry W Thomason↗
NASA NTRS1972

Flow direction determination of lava flows.

The flow direction technique, previously applied to ash-flow sheets, can be used to determine direction of movement and locate eruptive centers for lava flows. The method provides statistically stronger and more consistent flow direction data for lava than ash-flow tuff. The accuracy and reliability of the technique was established on the porphyritic basaltic andesite of Mount Taylor, New Mexico, which erupted from a known center, the Mount Taylor Amphitheater. The technique was then applied to volcanic units with unknown sources: the John Kerr Peak Quartz Latite and mid-Tertiary andesite flows in the Mogollon Mountains, both in southwestern New Mexico. The flow direction technique indicated flow patterns and suggested source areas for each rock unit. In the Mogollon Mountains flow direction measurements were supported by independent directional criteria such as dips of cross beds, stratigraphic thickening, facies changes, and megascopic textures.-

Smith, E. I.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Physical and optical properties of the Pinatubo volcanic aerosol: Aircraft observations with impactors and a Sun-tracking photometer

As determined in situ by impactor samplers flown on an ER-2 at 16.5- to 20.7-km pressure altitude and on a DC-8 at 9.5- to 12.6-km pressure altitudes, the 1991 Pinatubo volcanic eruption increased the particle surface area of stratospheric aerosols up to 50-fold and the particle volume up to 2 orders of magnitude. Particle composition was typical of a sulfuric acid-water mixture at ER-2 altitudes. Ash particles coated with sulfuric acid comprised a significant fraction of aerosol at DC-8 altitudes. Mie-computed light extinction increased up to 20-fold at midvisible and greater than 100-fold at near-IR wavelengths. The optical thickness measured through the aerosol layer by an autotracking Sun photometer aboard a DC-8 aircraft at 10.7- to 11.3-km pressure altitudes shows a spectral shape that is similar to the Mie-calculated spectral extinction at ER-2 altitudes. Surface area distributions calculated by inversion of spectral optical depth measurements show characteristics that are similar to the mean surface area distribution resulting from 35 in situ measurements.

Pueschel, R. F.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Volcanic Eruption of Cumbre Vieja, La Palma, Spain: A First Insight to the Particulate Matter Injected in the Troposphere

The volcanic eruption of Cumbre Vieja (La Palma Island, Spain), started on 19 September, 2021, and was declared terminated on 25 December, 2021. A complete set of aerosol measurements were deployed around the volcano within the first month of the eruptive activity. This paper describes the results of the observations made at Tazacorte on the west bank of the island where a polarized micro pulse lidar was deployed. The two and a half months analyzed (16 October – 31 December) reveal that the peak height of the lowermost and strongest volcanic plume did not exceed 3 km (mean of 1.43±0.45 km over the whole period) and was highly variable. It steadily increased until week 11 after the eruption start (and 3 weeks before its end) and started decreasing afterwards. The ash mass concentration has been assessed with a method based on the polarization capability of the instrument. Considering the limitation of current remote sensing techniques to detect large to giant particles, the ash mass concentration on one of the days with the highest ash load is estimated to have peaked in the range 800-3200 μg m(exp -3) in the lowermost layer below 2.5 km.

Cumbre Vieja↗
NASA NTRS2005

Physical Properties of Volcanic Deposits on Venus from Radar Polarimetry

Studies of the morphology and radar properties of volcanic deposits can aid in understanding their differences and formation. On Venus, volcanoes range in size from large highland edifices, such as Theia Mons, to small shields and domes which are often found in groups of tens to hundreds. In plains regions, windstreaks are sometimes found near shield fields, suggesting that there may be fine grained deposits associated with the volcanoes. Previous studies of Bell Regio suggest the presence of fine-grained material in a low dielectric constant triangular shaped region on the flank of Tepev Mons, which may be crater ejecta or a pyroclastic deposit spread westward by wind. The eastern caldera on Tepev Mons shows a steep trend in backscattered power with incidence angle and has high RMS-slopes, implying a finegrained covering such as ash. Radar waves can easily penetrate smooth mantling layers such as ash and aeolian deposits. If a radar system can measure two orthogonal polarizations, it is possible to detect subsurface scattering and infer the presence of surficial deposits. The Magellan spacecraft could only measure one polarization and was therefore not able to fully characterize the polarization state of the radar echoes. We compare Arecibo dual-polarization data for Venus to Magellan images and emissivity data to investigate the physical properties of volcanic deposits.

Carter, Lynn M.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Explosive volcanism on Hecates Tholus, Mars - Investigation of eruption conditions

From a reexamination of the medium and high-resolution Viking images of Amazonian and Hesperian age volcanic centers on Mars, it is believed that an excellent example of well-preserved explosive activity does indeed exist close to the summit of Hecates Tholus. A mantled region to the west of the summit caldera is seen as an example of a geologically very recent plinian air fall ash deposit. Morphological evidence is presented for describing this as explosively generated material, and numerical models of magma ascent and eruption in the Martian environment are used to estimate the physical characteristics (eruption cloud height, magma discharge rate, magma volatile content, duration of activity, and vent size) for this event. Attention is also given to the implication of this eruptive style for the composition of the erupted magma.

Mouginis-Mark, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Volcanic geology of Tyrrhena Patera, Mars

Consideration is given to the geology of Tyrrhena Patera, a large low-relief volcano in the southern cratered highlands of Mars. The general geology of Tyrrhena Patera is outlined and models for the formation of the volcano are described. Models derived from studies of terrestrial pyroclastic flows are applied to deposits at Tyrrhena Patera, showing that the characteristics of the deposits are consistent with an origin by the emplacement of gravity-driven ash flows generated by hydromagmatic or magmatic explosive eruptions.

Greeley, Ronald↗
NASA NTRS1987

Volcano evolution on Mars

The diversity of volcanic activity on Mars throughout geologic time was one of the major factors that has controlled the spatial distribution of surface mineralogies. The traditional view of Martian volcanism is one in which effusive activity has dominated the entire preserved geologic history of the planet, with the minor exception of phreatomagnetic activity and associated volcano ground-ice interactions. However, two lines of evidence have caused reconsidering of this view, and have led to the possible role of explosive volcanism on Mars. First, detailed analysis of high resolution Viking Orbiter images has provided good evidence for explosive activity on Hecates Tholus and Alba Patera. Secondly, the problems believed to exist in associating explosive volcanism with silicic magmas on Mars, and the consequent unusual magmatic evolutionary trend for Martian volcanoes from silica-rich to silica-poor, may now be circumvented by the consideration of basatic plinian activity similar in kind to terrestrial eruptions such as the 1886 Tarawera eruption. The morphologic evidence for an early phase of explosive activity on Mars is briefly reviewed, and a model is presented for the emplacement of ash-flow deposits on Martian volcanoes. The volcanoes Alba Patera and Olympus Mons are considered in this context, along with some of the older Martian tholi and paterae

Mouginis-Mark, Pete↗
NASA NTRS2003

H2O-Silicate Microphysics in Ascending Volcanic Plumes on Mars

We begin this study with a simple investigation of the role of the particle size frequency distribution on adsorptive scavenging in the ascending cloud. We define a parcel of silicates and H2O, and allow that parcel to cool, monitoring the total H2O remaining in the vapor phase. In this case, we have defined 10(exp 7) kg of silicates in the test volume, with a log-normal size-frequency distribution, a mean grain size of 10(exp -5) m, and a minimum of 10(exp -6) square meters per particle. This is based on observations of terrestrial ash particles that reveal enormous internal surface area. We assume 10(exp 5) kg of H2O (approximately equal to 1 wt%). The results of this study show significant dependence of the H2O sequestered in the adsorbed phase.

Zent, A. P.↗
NASA NTRS2000

The Sulfur Dioxide Plume from the February 26, 2000 Eruption of Mt. Hekla, Iceland

The February 2000 fissure eruption of Mt. Hekla, Iceland was captured in sulfur dioxide data from the Earth Probe TOMS. A special algorithm is used to discriminate sulfur dioxide from ozone. The eruption began at 18:19 GMT on February 26, 2000 and was first viewed by TOMS at 09:55 GMT on February 27. The volcanic cloud at that time appeared as a very long and narrow arc extending west from the volcano in southern Iceland, then north across Greenland, and finally east towards Norway. The cloud altitude was reported from aircraft sightings and data to be above 10 km. The circulation of a ridge located north of Iceland produced the large arc shaped cloud. As the eruption is non-explosive the high altitude cloud contains little ash. Almost all the ash from the eruption fell out locally across Iceland. By February 29, the sulfur dioxide cloud had drifted eastward in a band along the Barents Sea coast of Norway and Russia. The analysis includes an assessment of the initial sulfur dioxide content and its rate of conversion to sulfate.

Krueger, Arlin J.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Effect of volcanic emissions on clouds during the 2008 and 2018 Kilauea degassing events

Volcanic eruptions in otherwise clean environments are “natural experiments” wherein the effects of aerosol emissions on clouds and climate can be partitioned from meteorological variability and anthropogenic activities. In this work, we combined satellite retrievals, reanalysis products, and atmospheric modeling to analyze the mechanisms of aerosol–cloud interactions during two degassing events at the Kilauea volcano in 2008 and 2018. The eruptive nature of the 2008 and 2018 degassing events was distinct from long-term volcanic activity for Kilauea. Although previous studies assessed the modulation of cloud properties from the 2008 event, this is the first time such an analysis has been reported for the 2018 event and that multiple degassing events have been analyzed and compared at this location. Both events resulted in significant changes in cloud effective radius and cloud droplet number concentration that were decoupled from local meteorology and in line with an enhanced cloud albedo. However, it is likely that the effects of volcanic emissions on liquid water path and cloud fraction were largely offset by meteorological variability. Comparison of cloud anomalies between the two events suggested a threshold response of aerosol–cloud interactions to overcome meteorological effects, largely controlled by aerosol loading. In both events, the ingestion of aerosols within convective parcels enhanced the detrainment of condensate in the upper troposphere, resulting in deeper clouds than observed under pristine conditions. Accounting for ice nucleation on ash particles led to enhanced ice crystal concentrations at cirrus levels and a slight decrease in ice water content, improving the correlation of the model results with the satellite retrievals. Overall, aerosol loading, plume characteristics, and meteorology contributed to changes in cloud properties during the Kilauea degassing events.

Katherine H. Breen↗
NASA NTRS2021

Evidence for Systematic Changes in the Stratospheric Aerosol Size Following Volcanic Eruptions of Diverse Magnitudes Using Space-Based Instruments

An analysis of multiwavelength stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient data from the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II and III/ISS instruments is used to demonstrate a coherent relationship between the perturbation in extinction coefficient in an eruption’s main aerosol layer and an apparent change in aerosol size distribution that spans multiple orders of magnitude in the stratospheric impact of an volcanic event. The relationship is measurement-based and does not rely on assumptions about the aerosol size distribution. In this respect, it may be a unique tool to verify the performance of interactive aerosol models used in GCMs and ESMs and may suggest an avenue for improving aerosol extinction coefficient measurements from single channel observations such the Optical Spectrograph and Infrared Imager System. We note limitations on this analysis including that the presence of significant amounts of ash in the main aerosol layer may significantly modulate these results.

Larry Thomason↗
NASA NTRS1990

Geologic setting of diverse volcanic materials in northern Elysium Planitia, Mars

Geologic mapping of high-resolution (30-50 m/pixel) Viking Orbiter images of northern Elysium Planitia has identified seven sites where current problems in martian volcanology, chronology, and stratigraphy can be resolved. These sites, which are discussed in the context of a potential Mars rover/sample return mission, would permit the following investigations: (1) the dating of Lower Amazonian lava flows from Elysium Mons (thereby providing absolute calibration for global crater size/frequency relative chronologies, (2) the petrologic investigation of long run-out lava flows, (3) the geologic interpretation of materials that may either be lava flows or lahar deposits, (4) the analysis of materials believed to be ash deposits produced by explosive eruptions of Hecates Tholus, and (5) the investigation of the stratigraphy of fractured terrain along the boundary between northern Elysium Planitia and southern Utopia Planitia.

Mouginis-Mark, P. J.↗