Abstract
SATELLITE images of large volcanic explosions reveal that the tops of volcanic eruption columns are much colder than the surrounding atmosphere1. We propose that this effect occurs whenever a mixture of hot volcanic ash and entrained air ascends sufficiently high into a stably stratified atmosphere. Although the mixture is initially very hot, it expands and cools as the ambient pressure decreases. We show that cloud-top undercoolings in excess of 20°C may develop in clouds that penetrate the stratosphere; this is consistent with observations of the 4 April 1982 eruption of El Chichón1 and the 18 May 1980 eruption of Mount St Helens2. Furthermore, from our model results, we predict that for a given cloud-top temperature, variations in the initial temperature of 100–200°C may correspond to variations in the column height of 5–10 km. We deduce that the present practice of converting satellite-based measurements of the temperature at the top of volcanic eruption columns to estimates of the column height will produce rather inaccurate results and should therefore be discontinued.
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Woods, A., Self, S. Thermal disequilibrium at the top of volcanic clouds and its effect on estimates of the column height. Nature 355, 628–630 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/355628a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/355628a0
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