Volcanic emissions from AIRS observations: detection methods, case study, and statistical analysis

Lars Hoffmann; Sabine Griessbach; Catrin I. Meyer

doi:10.1117/12.2066326

21 October 2014 Volcanic emissions from AIRS observations: detection methods, case study, and statistical analysis

Lars Hoffmann, Sabine Griessbach, Catrin I. Meyer

Proceedings Volume 9242, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere XIX; and Optics in Atmospheric Propagation and Adaptive Systems XVII; 924214 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2066326
Event: SPIE Remote Sensing, 2014, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Abstract

Monitoring volcanic emissions is important for many reasons, most notably for impacts on climate and possible hazards for human health or aviation safety. Satellite instruments allow for long-term monitoring of volcanic emissions on a global scale. In this paper we introduce new detection indices for volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) that are optimized for radiance measurements of the Atmospheric InfraRed Sounder (AIRS). Radiative transfer calculations are used to determine the sensitivity of the ash index (AI) on the aerosol optical depth and the SO₂ index (SI) on the SO₂ column density. A case study on AIRS observations after the eruption of the Puyehue Cordon-Caulle, Chile, in June 2011 demonstrates that the new indices work in practice. A statistical analysis of a ten-year record (2002 to 2013) of AIRS data provides AI thresholds that help to better discriminate volcanic emissions from regular events such as dust storms. We compared our new SI with the AIRS operational product and found that it is more sensitive and better suppresses interfering background signals. Our new volcanic emission data products have been successfully applied in other scientific studies.

Citation Download Citation

Lars Hoffmann, Sabine Griessbach, and Catrin I. Meyer "Volcanic emissions from AIRS observations: detection methods, case study, and statistical analysis", Proc. SPIE 9242, Remote Sensing of Clouds and the Atmosphere XIX; and Optics in Atmospheric Propagation and Adaptive Systems XVII, 924214 (21 October 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2066326

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