After studying ash clouds from past volcanic eruptions, scientists in the United Kingdom believe they have found a way to predict potential routes where planes could safely fly during such events.
Researchers from the University of Edinburgh studied ash fall samples from previous eruptions in the hopes of mapping out secure flight routes that airplanes can take. However, the scientists said producing such a plan is not as easy as it may seem.
"Mapping volcanic ash clouds and their risk to aircraft is hard," Dr. John Stevenson of Edinburgh's School of GeoSciences said. "Large regions of airspace can be contaminated by particles that are invisible to the naked eye."
"Combining the expertise of volcanologists and atmospheric scientists should help improve forecasts."
During the study, Stevenson and his team collected data from previous eruptions such as the Eyjafjallajokull and the Grimsvotn in Iceland. They studied the ash fall recovered from these events as well as various prehistoric samples taken from peat bogs in Yorkshire, Ireland and Scotland.
They also analyzed an ash fall sample dating back to 1875, which was kept in a museum for 140 years.
The researchers' objective was to understand the various sizes of ash grains and the distance these grains were able to cover during the eruption. They discovered that the ash grains they were able to recover were larger compared to the estimates provided by satellites.
Stevenson and his team made use of computer models to recreate how ash clouds in different particle sizes would be detected by satellite sensors. Their simulation revealed that even the sensors can miscalculate the size of larger particles.
In 2014, the massive eruption of Eyjafjallajokull created problems for people living in and around Iceland.
The eruption plume from the volcano was able to reach a height of 18,000 feet, while the ash cloud it formed spread to 20,000 to 35,000 feet eastward.
The extent of Eyjafjallajokull's eruption posed a hazard for air travel across the Atlantic, causing several commercial airline companies to ground their international flights until air safety was restored.
The University of Edinburgh study is published in the journal Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.
Photo: Dimitry B. | Flickr
