SAVAA - Support to aviation services for volcanic ash avoidance
- Wasser - Atmosphäre - Umwelt
- Forschungscluster "Nachhaltigkeit"
Abstract
Volcanic eruptions can inject large quantities of volcanic ash and gases into the atmosphere at heights that range from the summit of the volcano to as high as 50 km. Winds can transport the ash and gases rapidly depending on the wind speed and the wind direction changing with height. The ash can cause extensive damage to aircraft. Volcanic gases, specifically SO2 may also pose a hazard to aircraft. The remoteness of volcanoes, the sporadic timings of eruptions and the ability of the upper atmosphere winds to quickly spread ash and gas, make satellite remote sensing a key tool for developing hazard warning systems. Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres (VAACs) are the principle authority for collecting and disseminating information related to volcanic ash and aviation. Volcanic ash advisories (VAAs) are issued to the aviation industry by the VAACs and in turn the VAACs rely on a complex system of data collection which includes weather observations, volcano observatory observations, satellite data information, “eye-witness” reports, pilot reports and invariably news reports. A system will be developed to support VAACs. Two solutions are proposed: (1) a webportal which allows VAACs to access data products and services developed through this project, and (2) a system (VAS) which demonstrates how real-time satellite data can be ingested, processed and then used with FLEXVOL to deliver timely volcanic data analyses and forecasts. Some features of VAS are its ability to include data and services from pre-existing sources (e.g. SACS or the new OMI system) and also its flexibility to permit use of other dispersion models. For example, FLEXVOL utilises FLEXPART at its core for providing atmospheric dispersion information, but this could be replaced with HYSPLIT, PUFF, NAME etc. The emphasis is on the systems integration of satellite products, dispersion and inverse modelling tailored to the needs of the VAACs.
earth.eo.esa.int
Project staff
Petra Seibert
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petra Seibert
petra.seibert@boku.ac.at
Tel: +43 1 47654-81417
BOKU Project Leader
01.11.2008 - 31.10.2011
BOKU partners
External partners
Norwegian Instiute for Air Research
Fred Prata, Andreas Stohl
partner
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
Fabrizia Buongiorno
partner
Universität Bremen, Institut für Umweltphysik (IUP)
Andreas Richter
partner