Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan. Ser. II
Online ISSN : 2186-9057
Print ISSN : 0026-1165
ISSN-L : 0026-1165
Global Circulation of Volcanic Debris of Mt. St. Helens : Evidence from the Change of Chemical Constituents in the Surface Air
Katsumi HiroseYukiko DokiyaYoshimi SuzukiYukio Sugimura
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1982 Volume 60 Issue 5 Pages 1194-1202

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Abstract

To find out a direct evidence of the long range transport of volatile and non-volatile elements derived from Mt. St. Helens' eruption on May 18, 1980, the concentrations of Zn, Sb, Se, Fe, Cl, Cu and 210Pb were determined in the surface air at Tsukuba. A pronounced peak of Zn, Sb, Se and Cl concentration was observed on June 4, 1980. Especially in case of Zn concentration, it increased as high as 7.1μgm-3 which was 50times higher than usual. The ratios of Zn/Se and Zn/Sb in airborne particles at Tsukuba were in good agreement with those in volcanic plume of Mt. St. Helens in June, 1980 over the United States. The period of the higher concentration of Zn in the surface air coincided with that of the increment of the stratospheric aerosol particles observed by Lidar system. Then it is concluded that these abrupt increase of Zn, Sb, Se and Cl in the surface air observed at Tsukuba in Japan may be due to the effect of the fallout derived from the volcanic debris from Mt. St. Helens which circled the world.

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