Forecasting volcanic ash atmospheric pathways is of utmost importance for aviation. Volcanic ash ... more Forecasting volcanic ash atmospheric pathways is of utmost importance for aviation. Volcanic ash can interfere with aircraft navigational instruments and can damage engine parts. Early warning systems, activated after volcanic eruptions can alleviate the impacts on aviation by providing forecasts of the volcanic ash plume dispersion. The quality of these short-term forecasts is subject to the accuracy of the meteorological wind fields used for the initialization of regional models. Here, we use wind profiling data from the first high spectral resolution lidar in space, Aeolus, to examine the impact of measured wind fields on regional NWP and subsequent volcanic ash dispersion forecasts, focusing on the case of Etna’s eruption on March 2021. The results from this case study demonstrate a significant improvement of the volcanic ash simulation when using Aeolus-assimilated meteorological fields, with differences in wind speed reaching up to 8 m/s when compared to the control run. When ...
The characterization of the eruption source parameters (EPS) of explosive eruptions is of vital i... more The characterization of the eruption source parameters (EPS) of explosive eruptions is of vital importance to prevent damages, mitigate environmental impact and reduce aviation risks. We consider highly explosive eruptions with a Volcanic Explosive Index (VEI) greater than 3. During these eruptions, a great number of volcanic particles are ejected into the atmosphere where they can remain suspended for several weeks. Satellite passive sensors can be adopted to monitor volcanoes due to their high spatial and temporal resolution. In this work we combine the Microwave (MW) and Millimetre-wave (MMW) observations with Thermal-InfraRed (TIR) radiometric data from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to have a complete characterization of the volcanic clouds. MW-MMW passive sensors are adopted to detect larger volcanic particles (i.e. size bigger than 20 µm) by working at lower frequencies. TIR observations are employed to study smaller particles due to the sensor settings which work at small...
During explosive eruptions a large amount of tephra is dispersed and deposited on the ground with... more During explosive eruptions a large amount of tephra is dispersed and deposited on the ground with the potential to cause a variety of damage and disruption to residential buildings and infrastructure, including road networks. The quantification of the tephra ground load is, therefore, of significant interest to reduce environmental and socioeconomic impact, and for managing crisis situations during volcanic eruptions. Tephra dispersal and deposition is a function of multiple factors, including mass eruption rate (MER), degree of magma fragmentation, vent geometry, top plume height (HTP), particle size distribution (PSD) and wind velocity and pattern.In this work we quantify the tephra load deposited on the road network of the eastern flank of Mt. Etna, in Italy, during the sequence of lava fountains occurred between February 2021 and 2022. In particular we analyse those events generating volcanic plumes mostly dispersed towards the east-southeast direction and focus our study on the...
IGARSS 2019 - 2019 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2019
In this work data observed by the geostationary MSG-SEVIRI and the polar NASA-Terra/Aqua-MODIS or... more In this work data observed by the geostationary MSG-SEVIRI and the polar NASA-Terra/Aqua-MODIS orbiting satellite instruments, have been used for the proximal and distal monitoring of the 24-30 December 2018 Etna eruption. The combined use of the SEVIRI high repetition time and the MODIS high spatial resolution allows a reliable near real time volcanic characterization from the source to the atmosphere. For the proximal monitoring the parameters estimated are the eruption starts and duration and the volcanic plume top height, while the distal monitoring was inverted relying on the determination of the volcanic cloud altitude and the ash/SO2 retrievals. Achieved products were validated by comparing these results with those observed remotely by ground based networks.Results obtained in this study show the ability of satellite-based systems to entirely follow eruptive events in near real time, offering a powerful tool to mitigate volcanic risk on both local population and airspace.
Hugues Brenot (1), Nicolas Theys (1), Lieven Clarisse (2), Daniel Hurtmans (3), Pascal Hedelt (3)... more Hugues Brenot (1), Nicolas Theys (1), Lieven Clarisse (2), Daniel Hurtmans (3), Pascal Hedelt (3), Margarita Vasquez (3), Lucia Mona (4), Gelsomina Pappalardo (4), Simona Scollo (5), Mauro Coltelli (5), Tuomas Peltonen (6), Juhani Lahtinen (6), Marcus Hirtl (7), Delia Arnold (7), Timo Virtanen (8), Gerrit de Leeuw (8), Guðrún Nína Petersen (9), Sara Barsotti (9), Matthieu Plu (10), Gerhard Wotawa (7), and the EUNADICS-AV WP5 team
<p>In the last years, several Etna eruption events are documented, forming lava flows and e... more <p>In the last years, several Etna eruption events are documented, forming lava flows and explosive activity. The Pilot EO4D_ash &#8211; Earth observation data for detection, discrimination & distribution (4D) of volcanic ash of the e-shape project provides the PANhellenic GEophysical observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA) of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), in Greece with near-real-time alerts from Etna volcano eruptions. These alerts are used in the PANGEA station to monitor and reveal the presence of volcanic particles above the area the days following an eruption, also the station is supported by a volcanic particle monitoring and forecasting warning system. In this work, we investigate the volcano eruption between 30 May and 6 June 2019 which affected the southern parts of Greece and reaching the Antikythera station. Due to the prevailing meteorological conditions, volcanic particles and gases followed an easterly direction and were dispersed towards Greece. FLEXPART dispersion model simulations confirm the volcanic plume transport from Etna towards PANGEA, mixing also with co-existing desert dust particles. Model simulations are evaluated with Polly<sup>XT</sup> lidar measurements performed at PANGEA and satellite-based SO<sub>2</sub> observations from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor (TROPOMI/S5P). This is the first time that Etna volcanic products are monitored at the Antikythera station, in Greece with implications for the investigation of their role in the Mediterranean weather and climate.</p><p><strong>Acknowledgments</strong>: We acknowledge the support by EU H2020 E-shape project (Grant Agreement n. 820852). Also, this research was supported by data and services obtained from the PANhellenic Geophysical Observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA) of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Greece, and by the project &#8220;PANhellenic infrastructure for Atmospheric Composition and climatE change&#8221; (MIS 5021516) which is implemented under the Action &#8220;Reinforcement of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure&#8221;, funded by the Operational Programme "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation" (NSRF 2014-2020) and co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund). NOA team acknowledges the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).</p>
Forecasting volcanic ash atmospheric pathways is of utmost importance for aviation. Volcanic ash ... more Forecasting volcanic ash atmospheric pathways is of utmost importance for aviation. Volcanic ash can interfere with aircraft navigational instruments and can damage engine parts. Early warning systems, activated after volcanic eruptions can alleviate the impacts on aviation by providing forecasts of the volcanic ash plume dispersion. The quality of these short-term forecasts is subject to the accuracy of the meteorological wind fields used for the initialization of regional models. Here, we use wind profiling data from the first high spectral resolution lidar in space, Aeolus, to examine the impact of measured wind fields on regional NWP and subsequent volcanic ash dispersion forecasts, focusing on the case of Etna’s eruption on March 2021. The results from this case study demonstrate a significant improvement of the volcanic ash simulation when using Aeolus-assimilated meteorological fields, with differences in wind speed reaching up to 8 m/s when compared to the control run. When ...
The characterization of the eruption source parameters (EPS) of explosive eruptions is of vital i... more The characterization of the eruption source parameters (EPS) of explosive eruptions is of vital importance to prevent damages, mitigate environmental impact and reduce aviation risks. We consider highly explosive eruptions with a Volcanic Explosive Index (VEI) greater than 3. During these eruptions, a great number of volcanic particles are ejected into the atmosphere where they can remain suspended for several weeks. Satellite passive sensors can be adopted to monitor volcanoes due to their high spatial and temporal resolution. In this work we combine the Microwave (MW) and Millimetre-wave (MMW) observations with Thermal-InfraRed (TIR) radiometric data from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites to have a complete characterization of the volcanic clouds. MW-MMW passive sensors are adopted to detect larger volcanic particles (i.e. size bigger than 20 µm) by working at lower frequencies. TIR observations are employed to study smaller particles due to the sensor settings which work at small...
During explosive eruptions a large amount of tephra is dispersed and deposited on the ground with... more During explosive eruptions a large amount of tephra is dispersed and deposited on the ground with the potential to cause a variety of damage and disruption to residential buildings and infrastructure, including road networks. The quantification of the tephra ground load is, therefore, of significant interest to reduce environmental and socioeconomic impact, and for managing crisis situations during volcanic eruptions. Tephra dispersal and deposition is a function of multiple factors, including mass eruption rate (MER), degree of magma fragmentation, vent geometry, top plume height (HTP), particle size distribution (PSD) and wind velocity and pattern.In this work we quantify the tephra load deposited on the road network of the eastern flank of Mt. Etna, in Italy, during the sequence of lava fountains occurred between February 2021 and 2022. In particular we analyse those events generating volcanic plumes mostly dispersed towards the east-southeast direction and focus our study on the...
IGARSS 2019 - 2019 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 2019
In this work data observed by the geostationary MSG-SEVIRI and the polar NASA-Terra/Aqua-MODIS or... more In this work data observed by the geostationary MSG-SEVIRI and the polar NASA-Terra/Aqua-MODIS orbiting satellite instruments, have been used for the proximal and distal monitoring of the 24-30 December 2018 Etna eruption. The combined use of the SEVIRI high repetition time and the MODIS high spatial resolution allows a reliable near real time volcanic characterization from the source to the atmosphere. For the proximal monitoring the parameters estimated are the eruption starts and duration and the volcanic plume top height, while the distal monitoring was inverted relying on the determination of the volcanic cloud altitude and the ash/SO2 retrievals. Achieved products were validated by comparing these results with those observed remotely by ground based networks.Results obtained in this study show the ability of satellite-based systems to entirely follow eruptive events in near real time, offering a powerful tool to mitigate volcanic risk on both local population and airspace.
Hugues Brenot (1), Nicolas Theys (1), Lieven Clarisse (2), Daniel Hurtmans (3), Pascal Hedelt (3)... more Hugues Brenot (1), Nicolas Theys (1), Lieven Clarisse (2), Daniel Hurtmans (3), Pascal Hedelt (3), Margarita Vasquez (3), Lucia Mona (4), Gelsomina Pappalardo (4), Simona Scollo (5), Mauro Coltelli (5), Tuomas Peltonen (6), Juhani Lahtinen (6), Marcus Hirtl (7), Delia Arnold (7), Timo Virtanen (8), Gerrit de Leeuw (8), Guðrún Nína Petersen (9), Sara Barsotti (9), Matthieu Plu (10), Gerhard Wotawa (7), and the EUNADICS-AV WP5 team
<p>In the last years, several Etna eruption events are documented, forming lava flows and e... more <p>In the last years, several Etna eruption events are documented, forming lava flows and explosive activity. The Pilot EO4D_ash &#8211; Earth observation data for detection, discrimination & distribution (4D) of volcanic ash of the e-shape project provides the PANhellenic GEophysical observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA) of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), in Greece with near-real-time alerts from Etna volcano eruptions. These alerts are used in the PANGEA station to monitor and reveal the presence of volcanic particles above the area the days following an eruption, also the station is supported by a volcanic particle monitoring and forecasting warning system. In this work, we investigate the volcano eruption between 30 May and 6 June 2019 which affected the southern parts of Greece and reaching the Antikythera station. Due to the prevailing meteorological conditions, volcanic particles and gases followed an easterly direction and were dispersed towards Greece. FLEXPART dispersion model simulations confirm the volcanic plume transport from Etna towards PANGEA, mixing also with co-existing desert dust particles. Model simulations are evaluated with Polly<sup>XT</sup> lidar measurements performed at PANGEA and satellite-based SO<sub>2</sub> observations from the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument onboard the Sentinel-5 Precursor (TROPOMI/S5P). This is the first time that Etna volcanic products are monitored at the Antikythera station, in Greece with implications for the investigation of their role in the Mediterranean weather and climate.</p><p><strong>Acknowledgments</strong>: We acknowledge the support by EU H2020 E-shape project (Grant Agreement n. 820852). Also, this research was supported by data and services obtained from the PANhellenic Geophysical Observatory of Antikythera (PANGEA) of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Greece, and by the project &#8220;PANhellenic infrastructure for Atmospheric Composition and climatE change&#8221; (MIS 5021516) which is implemented under the Action &#8220;Reinforcement of the Research and Innovation Infrastructure&#8221;, funded by the Operational Programme "Competitiveness, Entrepreneurship and Innovation" (NSRF 2014-2020) and co-financed by Greece and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund). NOA team acknowledges the support of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).</p>
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