Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-12-2017
Department
Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
Abstract
The separation of volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas is sometimes observed during volcanic eruptions. The exact conditions under which separation occurs are not fully understood but the phenomenon is of importance because of the effects volcanic emissions have on aviation, on the environment, and on the earth's radiation balance. The eruption of Grímsvötn, a subglacial volcano under the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland during 21-28 May 2011 produced one of the most spectacular examples of ash and SO2 separation, which led to errors in the forecasting of ash in the atmosphere over northern Europe. Satellite data from several sources coupled with meteorological wind data and photographic evidence suggest that the eruption column was unable to sustain itself, resulting in a large deposition of ash, which left a low-level ash-rich atmospheric plume moving southwards and then eastwards towards the southern Scandinavian coast and a high-level predominantly SO2 plume travelling northwards and then spreading eastwards and westwards. Here we provide observational and modelling perspectives on the separation of ash and SO2 and present quantitative estimates of the masses of ash and SO2 that erupted, the directions of transport, and the likely impacts. We hypothesise that a partial column collapse or "sloughing" fed with ash from pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) occurred during the early stage of the eruption, leading to an ash-laden gravity intrusion that was swept southwards, separated from the main column. Our model suggests that water-mediated aggregation caused enhanced ash removal because of the plentiful supply of source water from melted glacial ice and from entrained atmospheric water. The analysis also suggests that ash and SO2 should be treated with separate source terms, leading to improvements in forecasting the movement of both types of emissions.
Publication Title
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Recommended Citation
Prata, F.,
Woodhouse, M.,
Huppert, H.,
Prata, A.,
Thordarson, T.,
&
Carn, S.
(2017).
Atmospheric processes affecting the separation of volcanic ash and SO < inf> 2 in volcanic eruptions: Inferences from the May 2011 Grímsvötn eruption.
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics,
17(17), 10709-10732.
http://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017
Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/3173
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
© Author(s) 2017. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Publisher’s version of record: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-17-10709-2017