Volcanic ash over the Russian Federation territory after the volcanic eruption in Iceland on April 14, 2010 from the data of model simulations and observations

Abstract

After the volcanic eruption in Iceland on April 14, 2010, the volcanic ash cloud spread over Europe including Russia, that resulted in the air traffic collapse for several days. Presented are the results of computations of the volcanic ash spreading obtained with the FLEXPART Lagrangian dispersion model, as well as the results of the lidar sounding over Troitsk (Moscow region). The obtained model and experimental results agree well with each other and indicate the existence of settling layer of volcanic ash at the height of 4–6 km, that is corroborated by the data of observations in Europe. The largest uncertainty in the model computations is caused by the lack of information on the volume of the emission of micron particles transported with the wind to the large distance. The comparison of model results with the observational data can enable to correct the source function and to obtain more realistic estimates of volcanic ash concentrations, that is a key factor of the air traffic control.