Abstract
Abstract. The sub-glacial Eyjafjöll explosive volcanic eruptions of April and May 2010 are analyzed and quantitatively interpreted by using ground-based weather radar data and the Volcanic Ash Radar Retrieval (VARR) technique. The Eyjafjöll eruptions have been continuously monitored by the Keflavík C-band weather radar, located at a distance of about 155 km from the volcano vent. Considering that the Eyjafjöll volcano is approximately 20 km from the Atlantic Ocean and that the northerly winds stretched the plume toward the mainland Europe, weather radars are the only means to provide an estimate of the total ejected tephra. The VARR methodology is summarized and applied to available radar time series to estimate the plume maximum height, ash particle category, ash volume, ash fallout and ash concentration every 5 min near the vent. Estimates of the discharge rate of eruption, based on the retrieved ash plume top height, are provided together with an evaluation of the total erupted mass and volume. Deposited ash at ground is also retrieved from radar data by empirically reconstructing the vertical profile of radar reflectivity and estimating the near-surface ash fallout. Radar-based retrieval results cannot be compared with ground measurements, due to the lack of the latter, but further demonstrate the unique contribution of these remote sensing products to the understating and modelling of explosive volcanic ash eruptions.
Highlights
The early detection and quantitative retrieval of volcanic ash clouds is both a scientific and practical issue which can have significant impacts on human activities
The volcanic eruptions may have both short-term effects, regarding health threats to people living in the area near the volcano, and long-term effects, since airborne ash clouds may affect both surface ocean biogeochemical cycles and control atmospheric feedbacks of climate trend (Robock, 2000; Duggen et al, 2010)
Estimates on concentration of ash solid material in the eruption plume are usually based on theoretical assumptions, which may be supported by satellite-based observations of the ash cloud at mid to far distances from the vent (Wilson, 1972; Sparks et al, 1997)
Summary
The early detection and quantitative retrieval of volcanic ash clouds is both a scientific and practical issue which can have significant impacts on human activities. Estimates on concentration of ash solid material in the eruption plume are usually based on theoretical assumptions, which may be supported by satellite-based observations of the ash cloud at mid to far distances (hundreds of kilometres) from the vent (Wilson, 1972; Sparks et al, 1997) In this context active microwave remote sensing, through ground-based scanning weather radars, can be better exploited and can represent a very powerful, and to some extent, unique instrument to study explosive eruptions in proximity of volcanic vents (Harris and Rose, 1983; Lacasse et al, 2004; Marzano et al, 2006a; Gouhier and Donnadieu, 2008).
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