The uk Lidar-sunphotometer operational volcanic ash monitoring network

Mariana Adam,Jacqueline Sugier,Joelle Buxmann,Christopher Salmon,Andrew Horseman,Richard Bennett,Nigel Freeman,D Nicolae,A Makoto,E Landulfo,U Wandinger,A Comeron,A Vassilis,M.P Mccormick,C Senff,A Behrendt,D Balis,I Veselovskii,F Gibert

doi:10.1051/epjconf/201817609006

Abstract

The Met Office completed the deployment of ten lidars (UV Raman and depolarization), each accompanied by a sunphotometer (polarized model), to provide quantitative monitoring of volcanic ash over UK for VAAC London. The lidars provide range corrected signal and volume depolarization ratio in near-real time. The sunphotometers deliver aerosol optical depth, Ångstrom exponent and degree of linear polarization. Case study analyses of Saharan dust events (as a proxy for volcanic ash) are presented.

Highlights

The Met Office hosts and runs the London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) as part of nine VAACs worldwide [1]
The VAAC London advisories are based on input from ground-based, satellite-based and aircraft-based observations as well as dispersion models forecast [2]
The ultimate goal for the volcanic ash (VA) network is to provide for VAAC the location of the VA plumes and estimates of the VA concentrations within the plumes

Summary

INTRODUCTION

The Met Office hosts and runs the London Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) as part of nine VAACs worldwide [1]. The VAAC London advisories are based on input from ground-based, satellite-based and aircraft-based observations as well as dispersion models forecast [2]. The ceilometer network is used operationally since 2012 and it produces range corrected signal (RCS) in near-real time (NRT) [1]. The procurement of lidars and sunphotometers started in 2013 and the lidar-sunphotometer network became operational in 2016 (for more details, including the data flow to provide NRT visualization, see [1]). The ultimate goal for the volcanic ash (VA) network is to provide for VAAC the location (altitude of the boundaries) of the VA plumes and estimates of the VA concentrations within the plumes

LIDAR-SUNPHOTOMETER OPERATIONAL NETWORK

Biomass burning pollution event

Buoyancy internal gravity waves

CONCLUSIONS