HR: 1400h
AN: V23A-09    [Abstracts]
TI: Towards Improving Ash Monitoring; Combining and Comparing IR Satellite Data and Forward Trajectory Models
AU: * Matiella Novak, A
EM: mamatiel@mtu.edu
AF: Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 630 Dow 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, United States
AU: Watson, M
EM: watson@mtu.edu
AF: Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building Queen's Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, United Kingdom
AU: Rose, W I
EM: raman@mtu.edu
AF: Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 630 Dow 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931, United States
AU: Dean, K
EM: ken.dean@gi.alaska.edu
AF: Geophysical Institute of the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, AK 99775, United States
AB: Techniques used to observe and monitor volcanic ash in order to mitigate aviation hazard require testing to determine their reliability and limitations. Currently, the most used techniques rely on satellite remote sensing and trajectory modeling. Infrared data from such sensors as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) are used to determine the location and abundance of ash within eruptive clouds in as close to real-time as is possible. The other technique that has been developed uses a volcanic ash dispersion model (e.g. PUFF, HYSPLIT) to predict potential areas of high ash content based on wind fields, settling velocities and an initial location in three dimensional space. Used jointly, these two techniques could further improve ash detection by allowing us to compare the reliability of infrared data when applied to the detection of ash clouds. Using eruptions from various volcanoes, we can compare the location of the clouds based on satellite data to the location of the cloud based on PUFF simulation models quantitatively. In most cases where discrepancies do exist, they are attributed to ash cloud - atmosphere interaction. Ash clouds that are erupted into wetter atmospheric environments (latitude <40) are more difficult to monitor using satellite IR data due to the presence of water vapor in the atmosphere. An appropriate example of this phenomenon occurred with the May 10, 2003 eruption of Anatahan Volcano in the Mariana Islands (16.35 North). Satellite IR observations of this eruption show limited agreement with PUFF dispersion models of this eruption and this may be due to the presence of water vapor in the atmosphere which either 1.) masks the negative "split-window" signal indicative of ash in the atmosphere or 2.) causes the aggregation and faster fallout rate of ash than what is modeled. Further analysis of this eruption cloud and other eruption clouds in various atmospheric settings will provide further insight into what causes discrepancies between satellite IR observations of volcanic ash clouds and dispersion models.
DE: 8408 Volcano/climate interactions (1605, 3309)
DE: 8419 Volcano monitoring (7280)
DE: 8485 Remote sensing of volcanoes
DE: 8488 Volcanic hazards and risks
DE: 8494 Instruments and techniques
SC: Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology [V]
MN: 2007 Joint Assembly