Skyglow over Antarctica attributed to aerosols from the Tonga volcano – STUART SHAW/FLY ON THE WALL IMAGES
July 15 () –
Antarctica is experiencing stunning skyscapes like those seen recently over New Zealand, thanks to the glow effect of the Tonga volcano that exploded in January.
Scientists working in Antarctica have captured stunning photos of the skies over the frozen continent, including those obtained by New Zealand Antarctic Science Technician Stuart Shaw, which is stationed at Scott Base for the winter.
“Usually in mid-winter, Antarctica is almost continuously dark, except for a slight ‘nautical twilight’ around noon, which means that the horizon is barely visible in good conditions. But this year, we put on a great showwhich had most of the station staff grabbing jackets and running outside with their cameras to look at the amazing colors,” Shaw said. it’s a statement of the New Zealand NIWA (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research).
He was asked to share the images after seeing a NIWA paper on unusually pink skies in New Zealand, caused by remnant aerosols in the stratosphere from the Tonga volcanic eruption in January, which made him realize that he was seeing the same effect at the bottom of the world. Antarctica is about 5,000 kilometers from New Zealand and about 7,000 kilometers from Tonga.
NIWA forecaster Nava Fedaeff says data from the lidar (laser radar) satellite shows a large amount of aerosols in the stratosphere between 15 and 24 km above Antarctica, that were not present before the eruption.
“Stratospheric aerosols can circulate around the globe for months after a volcanic eruption, scattering and deflecting light as the sun sets or rises over the horizon, creating a sky glow with shades of pink, blue, purple and violet. These volcanic twilights are known as ‘afterglows’, whose color and intensity depend on the amount of haze and cloudiness along the path of light reaching the stratosphereFedaeff said.
The aerosols are mostly sulfate particles, but since this was an underwater eruption, there are also likely to be droplets of water vapor and sea salt in the mix.
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