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At least 685 records · Page 38
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NASA NTRS1984

El Chichon volcanic debris in an Arctic tropopause fold

A research flight with the NOAA WP-3D aircraft revealed evidence for stratospheric-tropospheric exchange within the Arctic through tropopause folding on the flank of the polar vortex. Observations showed descent of the tropopause and of stratospheric ozone to 700 mb along the west coast of Greenland. Measurements of condensation nuclei and analysis of high volume impactor samples documented the presence of volcanic debris probably from the 1982 El Chichon eruption, including H2SO4 droplets, within the polar vortex and associated tropopause fold.

Shapiro, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Climate studies with a multilayer energy balance model. III - Climatic impact of stratospheric volcanic aerosols

A multilayer energy balance model is applied in an examination of the sensitivity of climate to stratospheric aerosols induced by volcanic eruptions. Zonally and annually averaged quantities are considered, with ocean and land temperatures computed separately and the atmosphere below the 200 mb level divided into eight layers of 24 sublayers each. The aerosol is assumed to form in the 150-200 mb range. Aerosol parameters for radiative transfer calculations are reflection in the solar spectral region and absorption in the solar and IR regions. A 75 percent aqueous solution of sulfuric acid is assumed for the aerosols. The sensitivity of the hemispherically averaged surface temperature is enhanced 37 percent, with a 20 percent uncertainty, when the thermal IR radiation is excluded. The solar radiation enhances the surface temperatures to a higher degree than the thermal radiation. The maximum response to the evenly distributed aerosols is in the 60-70 deg N latitudes and propagates, weakening, to lower latitudes.

Chou, M.-D.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Sulphur-rich volcanic eruptions and stratospheric aerosols

Data from direct measurements of stratospheric optical depth, Greenland ice-core acidity, and volcanological studies are compared, and it is shown that relatively small but sulfur-rich volcanic eruptions can have atmospheric effects equal to or even greater than much larger sulfur-poor eruptions. These small eruptions are probably the most frequent cause of increased stratospheric aerosols. The possible sources of the excess sulfur released in these eruptions are discussed.

Rampino, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Calderas of the Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic field western Mexico

The data base on the mineral content, geomorphology, and extent of caldera in the Sierra Madre Occidental volcanic field is surveyed. Caldera identified from Landsat imagery and confirmed by field studies have generally had high structural levels and are therefore the youngest calderas and sometimes overlap. Detectable margins have been vertical and abrupt, while other structures indicate collapse during eruption and accumulation of thick, intracaldera facies. Calderas which collapsed are generally filled with sedimentation. Mineral deposits hosted by the caldera include tin, silver, gold, and iron, and a spatial relationship has been characterized between the Ocampa caldera structure and mineralized precaldera rocks. The survey has confirmed the locations of several dozen caldera, while the volume of silicic rocks surveyed indicates the presence of several hundred caldera in the Sierra Madre.

Swanson, E. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Evaluation of the L-band scattering characteristics of volcanic terrain in aid of lithologic identification, assessment of SIR-B calibration, and development of planetary geomorphic analogs

The objectives of the Shuttle Imaging Radar-B (SIR-B) scattering study and calibration investigation of volcanic terrain are to delineate textural and structural features, to evaluate the L-band scattering characteristics, and to assess SIR-B calibration. Specific tasks are outlined and expected results are summarized.

Kaupp, V. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Topographic Evidence for Shield Volcanism on Io

A volcano was identified whose morphology, especially topography, supports and extends current evidence that shield volcanoes occur on Io. The feature is centered at 30 deg. S, 246 deg w and lies in a region near the terminator. The presence of shield volcanism on Io was inferred from the planimetric configuration of flaws on such features as Ra Patera. A central edifice roughly 40 to 50 km in diameter is situated on intervent plains material, and a broad, slightly elliptical base 75 to 90 km across. The size of this feature is comparable to large shield volcanoes found on Earth. In addition, the topography is similar to some terrestrial shield volcanoes that exhibit a change in slope; the steepening may be explained by shorter and/or thicker flows emplaced during late stage eruptions.

Albin, E. F.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Volcanism and Rift Formation in Beta Regio, Venus: New Radar Results

A high resolution (approximately 2 km) image of Beta Regio, Venus, obtained with the Arecibo radar system, reveals additional details of structure which seem to confirm past suggestions that this region consists of a rift system and associated volcanism. Numerous long linear features approximately parallel to the north-south trending trough discovered by the Pioneer-Venus Orbiter are interpreted as being indicative of extensive faulting and the detail for the radar reflectivity anomaly coincident with Theia Mons suggests that it is a major volcano situated on what would be the western bounding fault of the rift system.

Campbell, D. B.↗
NASA NTRS1985

The Geology of East Butte, a Rhyolitic Volcanic Dome on the Eastern Snake River Plain, Idaho

East Butte is a prominent volcanic dome located on the eastern Snake River Plain. It is situated 51 km west of Idaho Fallls in the southeast corner of the Idaho National Engineering facility. East Butte rises 350 meters above the Quaternary basalt flows which encircle its 2.4 kilometer diameter base. Its maximum elevation is 2003 meters above sea level. East Butte is composed dominantly of rhyolite. Armstrong and others (1975) determined a K-Ar age of 0.6 +/- m.y. for a rhyolite sample from East Butte. Detailed geologic mapping revealed East Butte to be a single, large cumulo-dome composed dominantly of rhyolite. Major element geochemical analyses indicate that the rhyolite of East Butte is mildly peralkaline (molecular excess of Na2O and K2O over Al2O3 and compositionally homogeneous. Color variations in the East Butte rhyolite result from varying amounts of chemical and physical weathering and to the degree of devitrification that the glass in the groundmass of the rhyolite underwent.

Bretches, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Sulfur dioxide and particles in quiescent volcanic plumes from Poas, Arenal, and Colima volcanos, Costa Rica and Mexico

Measurements of SO2 emission rates and concentrations and of particle distribution, size, shape, and composition were made in quiescent volcanic plumes emitted into the troposphere from Poas and Arenal volcanos, Costa Rica, and Colima volcano, Mexico. SO2 emission rates were 700 + or - 180 metric tons per day (t/d) for Poas, 210 + or - 30 t/d for Arenal, and 320 + or - 50 t/d for Colima. The concentrations of SO2 calculated from the COSPEC/lidar data were 5-380 ppb. Concentrations of SO2 measured directly by flame photometry were 10-250 ppb. Particles collected in the plumes with a quartz crystal microbalance impactor were mostly less than 3 microns in diameter and consisted of droplets of dilute sulfur-bearing solutions and minor amounts of layer silicate particles coated with a sulfur-bearing film or crust. Total particle concentrations were 4.7 micrograms per cu.m for Poas and 18.8 micrograms per cu.m for Colima. Comparison of concentrations of SO2 in the plumes with gas samples collected at fumaroles on the ground suggests that the plumes are diluted by the atmosphere by factors of up to 100,000.

Casadevall, T. J.↗
NASA NTRS1983

The effect of volcanic aerosols on the thermal infrared budget of the lower stratosphere

The thermal IR heating of the stratosphere due to volcanic aerosols such as those released by the eruption of El Chichon is investigated by means of clear-sky model computations using a LOWTRAN5 radiance code (Kneizys et al., 1980) modified by Charlock (1983) to increase its vertical resolution. The results are presented graphically for 4-km-thick aerosol layers at altitudes 18, 22, and 25 km and at latitudes 0 deg and 35 deg N, and the effects of tropospheric cloud height (0-10 km) are taken into account. The aerosol-induced IR divergence is shown to depend on aerosol height and to be highly and nonlinearly sensitive to the location of underlying water clouds.

Charlock, T. P.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Determination of volcanic dust deposition from El Chichon using ground and satellite data

Major volcanic eruptions of El Chichon on 28 March 1982, 3 April 1982 and 4 April 1982 produced heavy tephra falls in surrounding areas. Data from the NOAA-6 and NOAA-7 satellites were used to determine the extent of the tephra falls. The satellite data showed a larger area of tephra deposition than was reported from conventional ground measurements.

Tucker, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Apollo 15 mare volcanism: Constraints and problems

The Apollo 15 landing site contains more volcanics in the form of crystalline basalts and pristine glasses, which form the framework for all models dealing with the mantle beneath that site. Major issues on the petrology of the mare source regions beneath that portion of Mare Imbrium are summarized.

Delano, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Hadley Rille, lava tubes and mare volcanism at the Apollo 15 site

Hadley Rille appears to be a collapsed lava tube/channel, whose formation history may be more intimately related to the mare units sampled at 15 than was previously thought. More work is needed relating samples and observations from Apollo 15 to the rille and its geologic evolution. As the only sinuous rille visited during the Apollo missions, Hadley Rille represents a data source that is directly applicable to the deciphering of processes involved in lunar mare volcanism.

Greeley, R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Volcanic impact on stratospheric aerosol chemistry

Samples collected by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) using the multiple-filter sampler on the U-2 were analyzed. The sampler is capable of exposing a number of 110 mm filters in sequence to ram air flow. Two types of filters, IPC cellulose and polystrene, were used, both of which have high blank levels for the trace elements determined. The levels of most trace elements in the stratosphere are so low under normal circumstances that none can be seen. Results from the eruption of Mt. St. Helens, a mystery cloud (probably volcanic in origin) in 1982, and the El Chichonal eruption in 1983 are discussed. To improve the collection of particles for chemical analysis, a new sampling system was developed for use on the U-2. The sampler consisted of an electrostatic collection of particles between 1 and 0.001 micron diameter dierectly onto electron microscopic grids, followed by a thermal precipitation for the smaller particles. The system was built and tested in the laboratory, but never flown on the U-2.

Zoller, W. H.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Characterization of Io's volcanic activity by infrared polarimetry

The thermal emission from Io's volcanic hot spots is linearly polarized. Infrared measurements at 4.76 micrometers show disk-integrated polarization as large as 1.6 percent. The degree and position angle of linear polarization vary with Io's rotation in a manner characteristic of emission from a small number of hot spots. A model incorporating three hot spots best fits the data. The largest of these hot spots lies to the northeast of Loki Patera, as mapped from Voyager, and the other spot on the trailing hemisphere is near Ra Patera. The hot spot on the leading hemisphere corresponds to no named feature on the Voyager maps. The value determined for the index of refraction of the emitting surface is a lower bound; it is similar to that of terrestrial basalts and is somewhat less than that of sulfur.

Goguen, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Volcanic hot spots on Io - Correlation with low-albedo calderas

In the present investigation, it is shown that a one-to-one correspondence exists on Io between hot spots and features with normal albedos less than or equal to 0.3 (in the Voyager orange filter). It is pointed out that the hot spots are a manifestation of the prolific volcanic activity and heat flow of Io, widely believed to be due to dissipation of tidal energy resulting from the forward eccentricity of Io's orbit and the tides raised by Jupiter. All of the hot spots identified by the Voyager 1 infrared interferometric spectrometer (IRIS) correspond to relatively low-albedo features. An approach has been developed to identify hot spots not included in the IRIS inventory and to model their temperatures. The spectral reflectivities of the low-albedo features, extracted from the multispectral mosaics produced by Soderblom et al. (1985), are also presented, and compared to the laboratory spectra of a variety of candidate materials.

Mcewen, A. S.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Volcanic eruptions and the increases in the stratospheric aerosol content: Lidar measurements from 1982 to 1986

The results of the observation for stratospheric aerosols which were carried out since the autumn of 1982 by using the NIES large lidar are described. Specifications of the lidar system are shown. The lidar has two wavelenghts of 1.06 and 0.53 micrometers. The 0.53 micrometer is mainly used for the stratospheric aerosols, because the PMT for 0.53 micrometers has higher sensitivity that that for 1.06 micrometers and the total efficiency is higher in the former. A switching circuit is used to control the PMT gain for avoiding signal induced noise in PMT. For the last four years, the stratospheric aerosol layer which was significantly perturbed by the El Chichon volcanic eruption was observed. The scattering ratio profiles observed from 1982 through 1983 are given.

Hayashida, S.↗