Tag Archives: ash cloud

Red Alert: Pavlof Volcano intensifies again in Alaska, flights advised to avoid the ash cloud

The Pavlof Volcano in the Alaska Peninsula has been a long-running safety concern in Alaska for aviators. The volcano has caused red alerts in the past. The ash cloud from the Pavlof Volcano has again reached 30,000 feet triggering a new round of aviation alerts. The National Weather Service warned aviation interests that the ash cloud from the erupting volcano was spreading to the west and northwest of the volcano. The volcano intensified yesterday prompting the new aviation warnings. The volcano is the most active volcano in Alaska.

The volcano lies along major Asia-North America air traffic great circle routes.

The Alaska Volcano Observatory issued this statement yesterday (November 15):

PAVLOF VOLCANO (VNUM #312030)
55°25’2″ N 161°53’37” W, Summit Elevation 8261 ft (2518 m)
Current Volcano Alert Level: WARNING
Current Aviation Color Code: RED

The eruption of Pavlof Volcano that began on November 12 has intensified and the Aviation Color Code was raised to RED and the Volcano Alert Level to WARNING earlier today.

The intensity of seismic tremor remains at high levels and pilot reports though 12:30 AKST (21:30 UTC) indicate that the ash cloud height has increased to 30,000 ft above sea level. Satellite, pilot reports, and wind data show the ash cloud moving towards the northwest over the Bering Sea. Ash cloud height and direction will vary significantly through an eruption and aviation users should refer to the National Weather Service for updated SIGMETs on the ash cloud hazard (http://aawu.arh.noaa.gov/sigmets.php).

No reports of ash fallout on nearby communities have been reported, and the ash cloud is currently moving away from populated areas. We encourage observers to contact AVO should it occur (https://www.avo.alaska.edu/ashfall/ashreport.php). The National Weather Service has issued a Special Weather Statement for the possibility of ash fall in the vicinity of Pavlof and towards the northwest.

Description of the volcano:

From Miller and others (1998): “Pavlof Volcano is a largely snow-covered, cone-shaped mountain with a high ridge extending to the southwest towards the rim of Emmons Lake Caldera. The volcano is approximately 7 km in diameter and has active vents on the north and east sides close to the summit (McNutt and others, 1991). It is situated high on the northeastern flank of Emmons Lake Caldera along a northeast-trending alignment of vents that includes Pavlof Sister, and several intracaldera cones (Kennedy and Waldron, 1955). The stratovolcano is relatively undissected and is mostly Holocene in age. Pavlof lies within the Shumagin seismic gap (Davies and others, 1981).” The name Pavlof comes from Russian, translating to “Paul” or “Saint Paul”. This volcano name was first published as “Pavlovskoi Volcan” by Captain Lutke in 1836.

Ash Cloud Forecast: CLICK HERE

Top photo and map: Alaska Volcano Observatory/Carol Damberg.

easyJet, Airbus and Nicarnica Aviation complete the final stage of testing of the AVOID volcanic ash detection system

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) has issued this statement:

During the experiment the test team successfully:

Generated an artificial ash cloud over the bay of Biscay by releasing a tonne of volcanic ash using an Airbus A400M aircraft.
Measured the ash concentration with a small aircraft flying through the ash cloud
Flew an Airbus A340-300 fitted with the AVOID sensor towards the ash cloud and successfully identified the ash from distances of 60km as well as accurately measuring its concentration
easyJet plans to continue development with a view to mounting stand-alone units on some of its current fleet of aircraft by the end of 2014 thereby providing a solution which would mean we should not encounter the widespread air space closures of 2010 again

EasyJet, the UK’s largest airline, along with its partners Airbus and Nicarnica Aviation, has successfully completed the final stage of testing for the AVOID (Airborne Volcanic Object Identifier and Detector) volcanic ash technology through a unique experiment involving the creation of an artificial ash cloud.

An A400M Airbus test plane (below) dispersed one ton of Icelandic ash into the atmosphere at between 9,000 ft and 11,000 ft thereby creating conditions consistent with the 2010 eruption. A second Airbus test aircraft, an A340-300, with the AVOID technology fitted, flew towards the ash cloud identifying and measuring it from around 60 km away. The experiment also used a small aircraft, a Diamond DA42 from Dusseldorf University of Applied Sciences, to fly into the ash cloud to take measurements which help to corroborate the measurements made by the AVOID system.

The ash cloud produced during the test was between 600 ft and 800 ft deep measuring 2.8 km in diameter. To begin with the ash cloud was visible to the naked eye but dissipated quickly becoming difficult to identify.

The AVOID volcanic sensor detected the ash cloud and measured its density which ranged from 0.1 to 1 g m-2 – or concentrations of 100 to 1000 µg m-3. This is within the range of concentrations measured during the Eyjafjallajokul ash crisis in April and May 2010.

Video:

EasyJet:

EasyJet to test AVOID ash detection technology through creation of artificial volcanic ash cloud

EasyJet (UK) (stylized as easyJet) (London-Luton) and its partners Airbus and Nicarnica are planning the final stage of testing for the AVOID technology. Last week EasyJet flew back a ton of volcanic ash from Iceland collected by the Institute of Earth Sciences in Reykjavik. The ash, dried to create the consistency of fine talc, will be used in a unique experiment which is planned for this summer.

The next phase of testing will involve two Airbus test planes, one of which has the ability to disperse the ash into the atmosphere, thereby creating an artificial ash cloud for a second Airbus test aircraft with the AVOID technology fitted to detect and avoid at over 30,000 feet.

The experiment, which is expected to be conducted in August, will take place when the Seviri and Calypso satellites are aligned to be able to image the ash cloud from space thereby helping to prove the accuracy and effectiveness of the AVOID technology.

Ian Davies, easyJet’s Engineering Director, commented: “The threat from Icelandic volcanoes continues and so finalizing the approval of the AVOID technology is as crucial now as ever to ensure we never again see the scenes of spring 2010 when all flying ceased for several days.

“Transporting a ton of volcanic ash from Iceland is an important step in the final journey of testing the technology and moving towards commercial certification.”

Dr Fred Prata, inventor of the AVOID technology, said: “This is the perfect science experiment. We will know exactly how much ash we have placed in the atmosphere, and also its concentration and composition. AVOID will then measure it and demonstrate the technology.”

Manfred Birnfeld, Senior flight Test Engineer for Airbus, said: “We are all working towards reducing the impact of volcanic ash clouds, and the technology being developed in AVOID could prove valuable in identifying airspace free of ash contamination and provide data for pilots and airlines on the precise localisation of ash clouds.

“This is why Airbus is supporting the development of AVOID and we hope this system will contribute towards three dimensional, dynamic mapping tools to allow the airlines to take necessary decisions for a safe flight under the full knowledge of current location of ash clouds.”

The AVOID system can be likened to a weather radar for ash. Created by Dr Fred Prata, Chief Technology Officer at Nicarnica Aviation, the system comprises of infrared technology (developed by the U.S. military) fitted to aircraft to supply images to pilots and an airline’s operations control center. The images will enable pilots to see an ash cloud, up to 100 kilometers ahead of the aircraft and at altitudes between 5,000 feet and 50,000 feet, thus allowing them to make small adjustments to the plane’s flight path to avoid any ash cloud. The concept is very similar to weather radars which are standard on commercial airliners today.

On the ground, information from aircraft with AVOID technology would be used to build an accurate image of the volcanic ash cloud using real time data. This could open up large areas of airspace that would otherwise be closed during a volcanic eruption, which would benefit passengers by minimising disruption.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth. Airbus A319-111 G-EZIK (msn 2482) touches down at EuroAirport serving Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg.

EasyJet (UK):