Siege in the Southern Stratosphere: Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai Water Vapor Excluded From the 2022 Antarctic Polar Vortex

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 50; no. 14
• Main Authors: Manney, Gloria L., Santee, Michelle L., Lambert, Alyn, Millán, Luis F., Minschwaner, Ken, Werner, Frank, Lawrence, Zachary D., Read, William G., Livesey, Nathaniel J., Wang, Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington John Wiley & Sons, Inc 28-07-2023; Wiley
• Subjects: Antarctic vortex; Chemical reactions; Chlorine; Eruptions; Hunga Tonga eruption; Nitric acid; Nitric acids; Ozone; Ozone depletion; Ozone destruction; Ozone hole; polar chemical processing; Polar environments; Polar regions; Polar stratospheric clouds; Polar vortex; satellite data; Stratosphere; stratospheric polar vortex; Stratospheric polar vortexes; Stratospheric vortices; Trace gases; Transport; Vortex development; Vortices; Water vapor; Water vapour; Winds; Winter; Tonga
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2023GL103855

We use Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) trace gas measurements to investigate whether water vapor (H2O) injected into the stratosphere by the Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai (HTHH) eruption affected the 2022 Antarctic stratospheric vortex. Other MLS‐measured long‐lived species are used to distinguish high HTHH H2O from that descending in the vortex from the upper‐stratospheric H2O peak. HTHH H2O reached high southern latitudes in June–July but was effectively excluded from the vortex by the strong transport barrier at its edge. MLS H2O, nitric acid, chlorine species, and ozone within the 2022 Antarctic polar vortex were near average; the vortex was large, strong, and long‐lived, but not exceptionally so. There is thus no clear evidence of HTHH influence on the 2022 Antarctic vortex or its composition. Substantial impacts on the stratospheric polar vortices are expected in succeeding years since the H2O injected by HTHH has spread globally.
Plain Language Summary
The 2022 Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai eruption injected vast amounts of water vapor into the stratosphere. Concern arose that this excess water vapor could affect the 2022 Antarctic stratospheric polar vortex and ozone hole: Water vapor plays a crucial role in forming polar stratospheric clouds, which provide surfaces upon which chemical reactions that destroy ozone take place. Enhanced water vapor also affects temperatures, which in turn affect the powerful winds defining the polar vortex boundary. Antarctic polar vortex development began in April–May; by June the intense vortex‐edge winds presented a formidable obstacle to transport. Satellite trace‐gas measurements show that when water vapor from the Hunga Tonga eruption reached the vortex edge in June, it faced an impenetrable barrier and “besieged” the vortex, building up exceptionally strong water vapor gradients across the vortex edge. Water vapor, ozone, and chemicals involved in ozone destruction remained near historical average levels within the vortex through spring 2022. Because excess water vapor spread throughout the south polar regions after vortex breakup, much larger effects on the Antarctic vortex and chemical processing within it are expected in 2023 and beyond, when high water vapor will be entrained into the vortex as it develops.
Key Points
Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) trace gas data show that the Hunga Tonga‐Hunga Ha'apai H2O plume was effectively excluded from the 2022 Antarctic polar vortex
Antarctic lower stratospheric vortex strength, size, and longevity were among the largest on record, but within the range of previous years
Antarctic chemical ozone loss in 2022 was unexceptional, with MLS ozone and related trace gases observed to be near average