The role of submarine volcanism in atmospheric chemistry

• CaSO 4 and halogens in the Hunga volcanic cloud were mostly derived from seawater. • Sea salts had a strong influence on the stratospheric volcanic cloud at Hunga. • Small- and large-scale submarine eruptions frequently impact the stratosphere. • Non-submarine eruptions can also inject seawater and sea salts in the stratosphere. Submarine volcanic eruptions can form subaerial plumes that reach the stratosphere. Despite this, the impact of submarine eruptions on climate remains unclear due to a lack of clear geological record, with the recent large-scale Hunga eruption on 15 January 2022 being considered as an isolated case. Here, we review the impact of submarine and subaerial volcanoes in island or coastal settings (i.e., near seawater) on volatile/aerosol loading in the stratosphere. Isotopic δ 34 S signatures of the Hunga ash suggest that CaSO 4 salts on the ash surface are dominantly formed by the evaporation of seawater during the eruption. We infer that SO 2 scavenging on volcanic ash did not play a major role in the lower-than-expected SO 2 detected in the volcanic cloud. Chlorine isotopic compositions (δ 37 Cl) also argue in favor of a seawater-derived origin of the chlorides from ash leachates. Combining petrological, leachate, isotopic and thermal analysis data, we demonstrate a near-absence of halogen degassing from the Hunga magma prior to and during the eruption, and conclude that the chlorine and bromine contents of tropospheric and stratospheric volatile species very dominantly derive from seawater/sea salts. We generalize our findings to all submarine eruptions, and large-scale, non-submarine eruptions in island or coastal settings, and propose that these may commonly form volcanic clouds that incorporate seawater thereby leading to the injection of related components (water vapor, sea salts, halogens) into the stratosphere. This makes seawater inputs a serious consideration when evaluating the long-term impact of volcanoes on climate.

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Journal
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Published
2025-10-18
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2025.119690
Primary Topic
Atmospheric Ozone and Climate
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

The role of submarine volcanism in atmospheric chemistry

Joali Paredes‐Mariño, Jie Wu, Terry Plank, Yang Sun et al.
Earth and Planetary Science Letters
Atmospheric Ozone and Climate
article

The role of submarine volcanism in atmospheric chemistry

Joali Paredes‐Mariño, Jie Wu, Terry Plank, Yang Sun, Simon Thivet, Donald B. Dingwell, Mathieu Colombier, Corrado Cimarelli, Tamsin A. Mather, Bettina Scheu, Shane J. Cronin, Magali Bonifacie, Mila Huebsch, Marco Brenna, Y. Lavallée, Ingrid Ukstins Peate, Kai‐Uwe Hess, Andrea Burke, Zoltán Taracsák, Folauhola Helina Latu’ila, Taaniela Kula, Matthew Toohey, Susann Tegtmeier, Pierre Delmelle, Graham W. Mann
article en

Abstract

• CaSO 4 and halogens in the Hunga volcanic cloud were mostly derived from seawater. • Sea salts had a strong influence on the stratospheric volcanic cloud at Hunga. • Small- and large-scale submarine eruptions frequently impact the stratosphere. • Non-submarine eruptions can also inject seawater and sea salts in the stratosphere. Submarine volcanic eruptions can form subaerial plumes that reach the stratosphere. Despite this, the impact of submarine eruptions on climate remains unclear due to a lack of clear geological record, with the recent large-scale Hunga eruption on 15 January 2022 being considered as an isolated case. Here, we review the impact of submarine and subaerial volcanoes in island or coastal settings (i.e., near seawater) on volatile/aerosol loading in the stratosphere. Isotopic δ 34 S signatures of the Hunga ash suggest that CaSO 4 salts on the ash surface are dominantly formed by the evaporation of seawater during the eruption. We infer that SO 2 scavenging on volcanic ash did not play a major role in the lower-than-expected SO 2 detected in the volcanic cloud. Chlorine isotopic compositions (δ 37 Cl) also argue in favor of a seawater-derived origin of the chlorides from ash leachates. Combining petrological, leachate, isotopic and thermal analysis data, we demonstrate a near-absence of halogen degassing from the Hunga magma prior to and during the eruption, and conclude that the chlorine and bromine contents of tropospheric and stratospheric volatile species very dominantly derive from seawater/sea salts. We generalize our findings to all submarine eruptions, and large-scale, non-submarine eruptions in island or coastal settings, and propose that these may commonly form volcanic clouds that incorporate seawater thereby leading to the injection of related components (water vapor, sea salts, halogens) into the stratosphere. This makes seawater inputs a serious consideration when evaluating the long-term impact of volcanoes on climate.

Earth and Planetary Science LettersVol. 671
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Leeds (GB), Institut de physique du globe de Paris (FR), Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory (US), University of Auckland (NZ), University of St Andrews (GB), Université Paris Cité (FR), University of Cambridge (GB), University of Oxford (GB), National Centre for Atmospheric Science (GB), Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and Food (TO), Columbia University (US), University of Otago (NZ), Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (DE), UCLouvain (BE)
National Science Foundation, Leverhulme Trust, Natural Environment Research Council
Openalex Percentile: Top 66%
Atmospheric Ozone and Climate
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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