Tracking Volcanic Ash With Satellites
- Visualizations by:
- Kel Elkins
- Produced by:
- Matthew Radcliff
- View full credits
Data from the Suomi NPP satellite is used by NASA scientists to map the full three-dimensional structure of volcanic clouds, allowing a more accurate forecast of where the volcanic ash is spreading. The information will be used by air traffic management to re-route flights around the hazardous ash clouds, which can damage airplane engines.
Complete transcript available.
Music: "Dangerous Clouds" by Guy & Zab Skornik [SACEM]
Watch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.
NASA scientist Nickolay Krotkov is developing a new way to map the full three-dimensional structure of the volcanic cloud. The NASA/NOAA/DoD Suomi NPP satellite maps the concentration of sulfur dioxide and volcanic aerosols using the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS). After it passes the volcanic plume, the OMPS Limb Profiler looks backwards and measures the vertical profile of the cloud in three separate slices.
The location and height of the particles, as well as the amount of sulfur dioxide, is being integrated into models of weather patterns to forecast the spread of the volcanic cloud. The high resolution of the vertical profiles allows a more accurate forecast in the days, weeks, and months after an eruption, which could reduce airline cancellations and re-routing costs.
Visualization of results from a supercomputer model of ash and sulfur dioxide spreading from an eruption of the Calbuco volcano in April 2015. The supercomputer combines the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere with data from the NASA/NOAA/DoD Suomi NPP satellite to model the full three-dimensional structure of the volcanic cloud.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Music: "Dangerous Clouds" by Guy & Zab Skornik [SACEM]
Animator
- Kel Elkins (USRA) [Lead]
Writers
- Audrey Haar (Telophase)
- Matthew Radcliff (KBRwyle)
Scientists
- Eric J. Hughes (UMD)
- Nickolay Krotkov (NASA/GSFC)
Producer
- Matthew Radcliff (KBRwyle) [Lead]
Narrator
- Jefferson Beck (KBRwyle)
Technical support
- Aaron E. Lepsch (ADNET)
Series
This visualization can be found in the following series:Related pages
NASA On Air: NASA Scientists Helping To Track Dangerous Volcanic Ash Plumes (5/17/2016)
May 17, 2016, 6 a.m.
Read moreLEAD: NASA scientists are developing new ways to map and forecast the ash plumes from volcano eruptions and redirect aircraft from dangerous plumes.1. The small volcanic ash particles are especially dangerous to the jet engines of airplanes.2. Because only volcanic clouds contain significant abundances of SO2 (sulfur dioxide) the Suomi NPP satellite (launched in 2011) is able to track the volcanic plumes.3. The high-resolution vertical profiles will allow more accurate forecasts and help reduce airline cancellations and re-routing costs.TAG: This capability of three-dimensional mapping of a moving volcanic cloud has never been done before.
Untitled
May 19, 2016, 7 a.m.
Read moreNASA satellite data could help reduce flights sidelined by volcanic eruptions. || Explore how scientists are using satellite data to model the flow of gases and particles released from a volcanic eruption in this video. || This image shows a plume of ash (white dots) and sulfur dioxide gas (yellow, red) rising from Chile s atmosphere.