Nabro Volcano Eruption Blew Through The Stratosphere

“There is overwhelming satellite evidence that the Nabro eruption caused a sizable and direct volcanic impact on the stratosphere,” said Mike Fromm, NRL research meteorologist. “Robust satellite data indisputably indicate volcanic gases and particles penetrated the stratosphere during the initial eruption and a second eruption three days later.”

Thermal infrared (IR) imagery captured by the NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite two hours after the eruption provides overwhelming evidence of a deep convective umbrella cloud with locally cold temperatures in a peripheral arc and warmer temperatures near the cloud center, a signature of violent convection associated with breaches in the lower stratosphere.

To characterize the Nabro plume, NRL scientists use three instruments from NASA’s ‘A-Train’ constellation—a series of quasi-simultaneous nadir and limb viewing measurement satellites that orbit Earth one behind the other. MODIS, onboard the satellite Aqua, acquires spectral data on global dynamics and processes occurring on land, in oceans, and in the atmosphere. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), onboard the Aura satellite, distinguishes between aerosol types such as smoke, dust, and sulfates, and measures data to derive ozone.