Halite particles injected into the stratosphere by the 1982 el chichon eruption.

Halite particles about 2 micrometers in size were collected by a quartz crystal microbalance cascade impactor from the El Chichón eruption cloud in the lower stratosphere during April and May 1982. These particles are probably derived from the erupted chloride-rich, alkalic magma. Enrichments of hydrogen chloride and increases in optical depolarization in the eruption cloud observed by lidar measurements may reflect the influence of the halite particles. There is evidence that the halite particles reacted with sulfuric acid after about 1 month, releasing gaseous hydrogen chloride, which can influence the catalytic destruction of ozone in the stratosphere.