Here we present volcanic eruption images generated from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) data. AIRS is a hyperspectral imager on the EOS/Aqua satellite, launched in May 2002, and its ~13.5 km footprint provides higher spatial resolution than TOMS. As an infrared sensor it also produces nighttime images of volcanic clouds, unlike TOMS. AIRS volcanic cloud studies are a collaborative effort between the TOMS group and the Atmospheric Spectroscopy Laboratory (L. Larrabee Strow, Director) in the Department of Physics at UMBC. The list will be populated over time and quantitative retrievals will be added when available.

Images presented in the SO2 column below are either bias difference images (in Kelvin) or quantitative SO2 retrievals (in Dobson Units [DU] or Milli atm cm). The former are generated by first calculating the brightness temperature difference (BTD) between the observed AIRS profiles (containing the volcanic signal) and profiles generated from European Center for Medium range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF) model data, and then calculating the difference in this bias between 2 AIRS channels - one sensitive to SO2 and the other insensitive. The larger the bias difference, the stronger the volcanic signal. Images in the Ash/Aerosols column similarly show bias difference images produced using channels sensitive to ash and sulfate aerosol, or quantitative ash retrievals. A triangular symbol marks the location of the source volcano. For further information please contact us.