Abstract

Differential SO₂ column measurements of the Mt. Pinatubo volcanic plume were made from a NASA Electra aircraft flying in the Caribbean in July, 1991. The mean column content of the volcanic plume in the Caribbean was 25 μatm m (2.5 Dobson units) with periods of up to 90 μatm m observed. Dispersion of the initial cloud from Mt. Pinatubo and 67% conversion of the SO₂ to sulfate over the one month period since the eruption are in good agreement with the column contents found here.

© 1991 Optical Society of America