Compensating atmospheric adjustments reduce the volcanic forcing from Hunga stratospheric water vapor enhancement.

ABSTRACT: The 2022 eruption of the Hunga submarine volcano injected an unprecedented volume of water vapor into the stratosphere, presenting a unique, natural experiment for ascertaining the influence of stratospheric water vapor within the global radiation budget. This study examines the radiative forcings of the Hunga stratospheric water vapor enhancement, comparing stratosphere-adjusted radiative forcing derived from offline methods to an effective radiative forcing derived from Earth System Model simulations. Assuming a uniform 2 parts per million mass mixing ratio increase of water vapor in the Southern Hemisphere stratosphere, we estimated the instantaneous, stratosphere-adjusted, and overall effective radiative forcing to be -0.04, 0.08, and 0.05 W m^-2, respectively. The lower magn

SUBMITTER: Wang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11313849 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature