Aerosols from the Soufriere eruption plume of 17 April 1979

Aerosol samples collected from the April 17, 1979 eruption plume of Soufriere, St. Vincent, at altitudes between 1.8 and 5.5 kilometers were physically and chemically very similar to the ash that fell on the island. Higher altitude samples (7.3 and 9.5 kilometers) had a much lower ash content but comparable concentrations of sulfate, which were above the background concentration found at these altitudes.