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Propagation of Perturbations in the Lower and Upper Atmosphere over the Central Mediterranean, Driven by the 15 January 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai Volcano Explosion
Author(s)
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
2A. Fisica dell'alta atmosfera
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
/14 (2023)
ISSN
2073-4433
Publisher
MDPI
Pages (printed)
65
Issued date
January 2023
Abstract
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano (Pacific Ocean) generated a cataclysmic explosion
on 15 January 2022, triggering several atmospheric disturbances at a global scale, as a huge
increase in the total electron content (TEC) in the ionosphere, and a pressure wave travelling in the
troposphere. We collected and analysed data over the Mediterranean to study these disturbances, and
in particular, (i) data from the barometric and infrasonic stations installed on Italian active volcanoes
by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) for investigating the tropospheric pressure
waves; (ii) barometric data from the INGV-TROPOMAG and SIAS (Sicilian Agro-meteorological
Information System) networks, for investigating the interaction between the orography and pressure
waves; (iii) ionograms from the Advanced Ionospheric Sounder-INGV ionosonde at Gibilmanna
(Sicily, Italy); (iv) data from the RING (Rete Italiana Integrata GNSS) network, to retrieve the ionospheric
TEC; (v) soil CO2 flux data from the INGV surveillance network of Vulcano Island. The
analysis of the ground-level barometric data highlights that pressure waves were reflected and
diffracted by the topographic surface, creating a complex space–time dynamic of the atmospheric
disturbances travelling over Sicily, driven by the interference among the different wavefronts. The
ionograms show that a medium-scale travelling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID), with a horizontal
wavelength of about 220 km and a period of about 35 min, propagated through the ionospheric
plasma in the correspondence of the first barometric variations. Moreover, comparing detrended TEC
and barometric data, we further confirmed the presence of the aforementioned MSTID together with
its close relation to the tropospheric disturbance.
on 15 January 2022, triggering several atmospheric disturbances at a global scale, as a huge
increase in the total electron content (TEC) in the ionosphere, and a pressure wave travelling in the
troposphere. We collected and analysed data over the Mediterranean to study these disturbances, and
in particular, (i) data from the barometric and infrasonic stations installed on Italian active volcanoes
by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) for investigating the tropospheric pressure
waves; (ii) barometric data from the INGV-TROPOMAG and SIAS (Sicilian Agro-meteorological
Information System) networks, for investigating the interaction between the orography and pressure
waves; (iii) ionograms from the Advanced Ionospheric Sounder-INGV ionosonde at Gibilmanna
(Sicily, Italy); (iv) data from the RING (Rete Italiana Integrata GNSS) network, to retrieve the ionospheric
TEC; (v) soil CO2 flux data from the INGV surveillance network of Vulcano Island. The
analysis of the ground-level barometric data highlights that pressure waves were reflected and
diffracted by the topographic surface, creating a complex space–time dynamic of the atmospheric
disturbances travelling over Sicily, driven by the interference among the different wavefronts. The
ionograms show that a medium-scale travelling ionospheric disturbance (MSTID), with a horizontal
wavelength of about 220 km and a period of about 35 min, propagated through the ionospheric
plasma in the correspondence of the first barometric variations. Moreover, comparing detrended TEC
and barometric data, we further confirmed the presence of the aforementioned MSTID together with
its close relation to the tropospheric disturbance.
Type
article
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