PACE Aerosols - Hawaii TINY Particles suspended in OUR Atmosphere CAN HAVE A HUGE IMPACT

Aerosols vary a great deal from place to place and over time. Knowing their type and distribution benefits people everywhere. The Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite mission will help capture a complete and accurate picture of aerosols around the globe.

Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano is best known for its spectacular lava fountains and flows.

During periods of sustained eruption, it also emits about 2,000 tons of irritating sulfur dioxide gas (SO2) gas each day.

Deep inside the volcano, SO2 is dissolved in molten rock (magma).

When the magma rises toward the surface, where pressure is lower, the gas bubbles out and escapes.

Ash emitted during eruptions goes directly into the atmosphere, where it can be an aircraft hazard.

Kīlauea has a long history of eruptions, including an event that lasted from 1983 to 2018. In May 2018, fissure eruptions emerged in a nearby neighborhood (Leilani Estates). A sulfur-rich plume moved downwind of the active fissures. Luckily, winds blew the plume along the coast over the ocean, away from people's homes.

Images show the height of the sulfur-rich plume from Hawaii's Kīlauea on May 6, 2018. {Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra satellite]

Series of images shows elevated concentrations of SO2 over Hawaii from April 30 to May 5, 2018. Graph shows SO2 levels prior to the eruption from new issues in early May. [Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite sensor on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite]

Laze-y Days on the Coast

Volcanic activity can create other types of aerosols. When hot lava flows reach the coast, it causes cool seawater to boil.

A series of chemical and physical reactions create a mixture of condensed acidic steam, hydrochloric acid gas, and tiny shards of volcanic glass.

Blown by wind, this plume creates a noticeable downwind haze, known as "laze" (short for lava haze).

Laze can irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs.

What the Vog?!

"Vog" – volcanic fog – is formed when sulfur dioxide gas emitted from a volcano reacts with oxygen and water vapor. The reactions form tiny drops of sulfuric acid and other sulfates, which create a visible haze.

Vog swirls around the Hawaiian Islands in this satellite image.

For decades, vog has caused a wide range of problems including reduced visibility, health complaints, and damage to crops.

Many Hawaii residents have rooftop rainwater-catchment systems to provide their drinking water.

Rainwater in some areas has been contaminated with lead leached by acid rain from roofing and plumbing materials.

Sea Spray? Love!

The ocean is a source of aerosols. Many processes can generate sea salt aerosols including the bursting of air bubbles associated with whitecaps.

Tiny air bubbles give sea spray a distinctive white color.

Like many aerosols, sea salt can help seed the formation of clouds.

Sea spray also helps organic matter move from the ocean to the atmosphere.

In the data model visualization below, blue represents sea salt. Winds blowing across the ocean kicks up ocean spray, which includes sea salt. Pale blue to white colors reflect stormy conditions. Individual large storms like tropical cyclones (hurricanes, typhoons) are visible as swirling circles of thick sea salt.

Scheduled to launch in 2024, PACE will extend and improve NASA's over 20-year record of observing ocean life, aerosols, and clouds.

PACE observations of aerosols over Hawaii will help us continue to monitor and understand the ways volcanoes can influence health, safety, and climate.

Take the PACE Aerosols Quiz Again

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Visit the PACE Website

PACE Aerosols - US West Coast

PACE Aerosols - US Midwest & Bahamas

PACE Aerosols - Aral Sea

PACE Aerosols – Amazon & Tropical Atlantic

PACE Aerosols - Southern Ocean

Links and Other Information

Kīlauea Volcano Erupts [US Geological Survey]
Ohana by Hawaiian ATR 42-500 on finals at Kahului Airport [Konstantin von Wedelstaedt]
Probing Kīlauea’s Plume [NASA Scientific Visualization Studio]
Sulfur Dioxide Leaks from Kilauea [NASA Scientific Visualization Studio]
ATom Postcard - Kona, Hawaii [NASA Scientific Visualization Studio]
Volcanic Air Pollution—A Hazard in Hawai`i [US Geological Survey]
Volcanic Activity at Kīlauea [NASA Earth Observatory]
Volcanoes, Vog, and Vortices [NASA Earth Observatory]
Sources of Aerosols [NASA Scientific Visualization Studio]
Aerosol Optical Thickness Updating Forecast [NASA Scientific Visualization Studio]
Other images used under 123rf License Agreement [ID 35322014, 31441289, 13432172, 60890527, 19958832]