Trajectories of the Mount St. Helens eruption plume
Abstract
The plume of the major eruption of Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 penetrated 10 to 11 kilometers into the stratosphere, attaining heights of 22 to 23 kilometers. Wind shears rapidly converted the plume from expanding vertical cone to a thin, slightly inclined lamina. The lamina was extruded zonally in the stratosphere as the lower part moved eastward at jet stream velocities, while the upper part slowly moved westward in the region of nonsteady transition from the westerlies to the summer stratospheric easterlies. Trajectories computed to position the NASA U-2 aircraft for sampling in the plume are described. Plume volume after 8 hours of strong volcanic emission is estimated at 2 x 10/sup +6/ cubic kilometers. Only about 1 percent of this volume is attributed to the volcano; the rest was entrained from the environment.
- Authors:
- Publication Date:
- OSTI Identifier:
- 6543829
- Resource Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal Name:
- Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States)
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 211
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; SULFUR DIOXIDE; ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT; AIR POLLUTION; MT ST HELENS; PLUMES; STRATOSPHERE; WIND; CASCADE MOUNTAINS; CHALCOGENIDES; EARTH ATMOSPHERE; FEDERAL REGION X; MASS TRANSFER; MOUNTAINS; NORTH AMERICA; OXIDES; OXYGEN COMPOUNDS; POLLUTION; SULFUR COMPOUNDS; SULFUR OXIDES; USA; WASHINGTON; 500200* - Environment, Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)
Citation Formats
Danielsen, E F. Trajectories of the Mount St. Helens eruption plume. United States: N. p., 1981.
Web. doi:10.1126/science.211.4484.819.
Danielsen, E F. Trajectories of the Mount St. Helens eruption plume. United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.211.4484.819
Danielsen, E F. 1981.
"Trajectories of the Mount St. Helens eruption plume". United States. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.211.4484.819.
@article{osti_6543829,
title = {Trajectories of the Mount St. Helens eruption plume},
author = {Danielsen, E F},
abstractNote = {The plume of the major eruption of Mount St. Helens on 18 May 1980 penetrated 10 to 11 kilometers into the stratosphere, attaining heights of 22 to 23 kilometers. Wind shears rapidly converted the plume from expanding vertical cone to a thin, slightly inclined lamina. The lamina was extruded zonally in the stratosphere as the lower part moved eastward at jet stream velocities, while the upper part slowly moved westward in the region of nonsteady transition from the westerlies to the summer stratospheric easterlies. Trajectories computed to position the NASA U-2 aircraft for sampling in the plume are described. Plume volume after 8 hours of strong volcanic emission is estimated at 2 x 10/sup +6/ cubic kilometers. Only about 1 percent of this volume is attributed to the volcano; the rest was entrained from the environment.},
doi = {10.1126/science.211.4484.819},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/6543829},
journal = {Science (Washington, D.C.); (United States)},
number = ,
volume = 211,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1981},
month = {Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1981}
}