Comment on essd-2022-42

Abstract

We present the ashfall deposit and airborne ash concentration dataset from ash dispersal simulation of a large-scale explosive volcanic eruption as a reference for ashfall disaster countermeasure. We select the Taisho (1914) eruption in Sakurajima volcano, regarded as the strongest eruption in Japan in the last century, as our case study to provide a baseline for the worst-case scenario. We employ one eruption scenario approach by replicating the actual eruption under various extended weather conditions to show how it would affect contemporary Japan. Accumulated ashfall has devastating impacts on both surrounding areas of the volcano and other regions, affecting airline transportation, socio-economics activities, and human health. Therefore, it is crucial to discover places with a high probability of exposure to ashfall deposition. This knowledge can help assess the additional risk in the infrastructures, human lives, and economic impacts to make a better volcanic eruption response plan. We generate the ash dispersal dataset by simulating the ash transport of the Taisho eruption scenario with a volcanic ash dispersal model and meteorological reanalysis data for 64 years (1958–2021). We explain the dataset production process and provide the dataset in multiple formats for broader audiences. We also clarify the validity of the dataset with its limitations and uncertainties. The dataset is available at the DesignSafe-CI Data Depot: https://www.designsafe-ci.org/data/browser/public/designsafe.storage.published/PRJ-2848v2 or through the DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.17603/ds2-vw5f-t920 by selecting Version 2 (Rahadianto and Tatano, 2020).