Volcanic Ash Can Take Down an Airplane

Courtesy Australian Government, Bureau of Meteorology

Plane talking: tracking and forecasting volcanic ash

Volcanic ash regularly causes significant flight disruptions. So why is volcanic ash a serious safety hazard for the aviation industry and how does the Bureau track and forecast its movement?


What is volcanic ash?

Volcanic ash in the air is a mixture of fine pulverised rock, minerals and glass, and is accompanied by gases which convert into droplets of sulphuric acid and other substances. It’s extremely hazardous to aircraft, with the potential to melt in the engine, and fuse into a glass-like coating on components, causing loss of thrust (the force that propels the plane through the air) and possible engine failure. It can also cause abrasion of engine parts, and the body of the aircraft, and clog fuel and cooling systems.

Photo: Mt Rinjani eruption, Lombok, 5 November 2015. Credit: Centre for Vulcanological and Geohazards Mitigation.

In June 1982 a British Airways 747 suffered severe damage and had all four engines fail after encountering ash from Mt Galunggung in Indonesia. It descended to 12 000 feet (normal cruising height is around 38 000 feet) before restarting some engines and making an emergency landing in Jakarta.. Three weeks later the same thing happened to a Singapore Airlines 747, which lost two engines and also made an emergency landing.

These incidents drove a major international effort to start tracking and warning aircraft of volcanic ash clouds.

For the latest on Mayon Volcano erupting in the Philippines:

NEW INFO: Mayon Volcano in Albay Province, Philippines Downgraded to Level 3

For the latest on the volcano erupting in Bali:

Bali Volcano Mount Agung, The Great Mountain, Lowers Danger Level; Evacuees Headed Home

Volcanic activity

The highest concentration of active volcanoes in the world lies along the rim of the Pacific Ocean—the so-called ‘Pacific Ring of Fire’. This 40 000 km horseshoe-shaped area stretches along the western edge of the Americas, across to the Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia), down through Japan and the Philippines and across Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand to the islands of the South Pacific. It is associated with a nearly continuous series of oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, and volcanic belts and/or plate movements. Other active regions are the Great Rift Valley in Central and East Africa, countries around the Mediterranean, and Iceland (home of Eyjafjallajökull, which erupted in 2010, famously grounding flights in 20 countries across Europe and affecting around 10 million travellers).

Pacific Ring of Fire. Oceanic trenches are shown in blue. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey.

Volcanic eruptions range in nature from a quiet, steady outpouring of lava to highly explosive eruptions which blast several cubic kilometres of ash and corrosive gases high into the atmosphere over a wide area for several days. This explosive activity is of greatest concern to aviation, mainly because of the great volume of ash and the height that the volcanic material can reach. An ash cloud from a large eruption can remain in the atmosphere in dangerous concentrations for many days. Over this time, it can travel many thousands of kilometres with the prevailing winds.

Monitoring volcanic ash

Globally there are nine volcanic ash advisory centres (VAACs) that detect, track and forecast the movement of volcanic ash clouds and provide advice to meteorological offices in their area of responsibility. The VAACs are located in the USA, Argentina, UK, Australia, Japan, France, Canada and New Zealand.

The Bureau’s VAAC (known as VAAC Darwin) is responsible for an area that includes the volcanically active regions of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and the southern Philippines—and monitors 152 active volcanoes. It provides advice to the aviation industry about the location and movement of potentially hazardous volcanic ash, using ground-based and satellite observations, pilot reports, and sophisticated forecasting models. The VAAC operates 24 hours a day.

Bali Volcano Mount Agung, The Great Mountain, Moderately Active Again

Photo Credit: Kriss Sieniawski

Update 6.30.18 Mount Agung has been moderately active in the past few days, causing ash clouds that temporarily halted some air traffic and caused those closest to the volcano to self-evacuate. Meanwhile, this beautiful photograph has been shared on Twitter by Bali’s government representative.

English translation courtesy Microsoft: The beauty of the great eruption of Mount under the glow of a full moon on 28/6/2018. A rare natural phenomenon. Not all countries have such amazing nature in Indonesia. There is always a blessing of nature that human work but more hunting on news of the disaster. Always harmony.

Update: 2.23.18

Engish Translation: White smoke solfatara with medium intensity coming out of the crater of Mount Agung. Volcanic activity continues to decline. The standby status (level 3) with the dangerous zone is 4 km from the summit crater. The community safely back to his home. There is no neighborhood in within a radius of 4 km. Bali is safe.

UPDATE 2.13.18

English translation:

The eruption of Mount Agung earthquake occurred in 13/2/2018 at 11:49: with a high column of smoke and ash 1500 meters above the Summit. The standby status (level 3). Hazardous zones within a radius of 4 km from the summit crater. As much as 15,445 people still displaced scattered across 146 evacuation point.

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UPDATE: 1.21.18 New Drone Footage:

Update 1.14.18

Update 12.28.17

English Translation: The crater of Mount Agung Visual recorded tourists Russia entered a dangerous zone which breaks up to at the edge of the crater on the 28/12/2017 morning. The volcanic activity of Mount Agung is indeed still high. Blowing smoke accompanied abu slim still occurs. Status Warning (level 4).

Update 12.24.17

Bali Government Spokesperson Sutopo Purwo Nugroho has tweeted:

Again, Mount Agung eruption of smoke and volcanic ash with a high column of 2,000-2,500 metres at 10.05 p.m.: 24/12/2017. Stratocumulus cloud pushes the column tops. The Status Of Mount Agung, Beware. Bali is safe. The airport normally and safely.

UPDATE ON 12.24.17

 12.11.17

Erupsi Gunung Agung yang terpantau dari Desa Junggul Besakih pada 11/12/2017 pukul 05:49 WITA. Asap kawah kelabu tebal tinggi 2500 meter dengan tekanan sedang, asap condong ke arah barat. Status Awas. Di dalam radius 8-10 km dari kawah berbahaya. #Balivolcano #Bali pic.twitter.com/y0rShltynT

Translated from Indonesian by Bing

The eruption of Mount Agung observed from the village of Besakih on the Junggul 11/12/2017 at 05:49:. Smoke grey high thick crater 2500 metres with a pressure medium, smoke is leaning towards the West. The Status Of The Awas. Within a radius of 8-10 km from the crater is dangerous.

Courtesy Sutopo Purwo Nugroho 12.11.17

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State of emergency in Bali now extended until December 10, 2017. Evacuation area is 8-10 km from Mount Agung.

Status on 11.30.17: A continuous volcanic eruption has been observed at Mount Agung since 9:25 pm on 25 November 2017. Evacuations are occurring now and many tourists are currently stranded on the island. The Bureau of Meteorology is advising the aviation industry that the potential for a larger eruption of Bali’s Mount Agung volcano is high (11.29.17).

 

English Translation via Bing:

Mount Agung eruption continued issuing volcanic ash 2000 metres high. The Status Of The Awas. Ngurai Rai airport Bali is normal. Lombok airport closed until 24.00 o’clock: 30/11/2017.

Translation by BING:

The beauty of nature with the eruption of Mount Agung. There is a harmony between nature and human. Mount Agung is sure to erupt at any time. Let nature work. That’s when the man step aside to make room on the mountain erupted in order that humans survived. Volcanic activity report gives a blessing.

LIVE FEED:

BEWARE OF GUNUNG AGUNG, STATUS IS ALLOWED FROM ANYWHERE TO CA; 27 November 2017 06:05 WIB

Mount Agung eruption continues to increase. The rate of eruption of the Great Volcano now rises from the phreatic to magmatic phase (since the observation of the rays at the peak at night on 25/11/2017 at 21:00 WITA.) Until today the magmatic phase eruption accompanied by constant thick ash of ash reaches a height of 2,000-3,400 meters from the peak .

Continuous ash puffs are sometimes accompanied by explosive eruptions accompanied by a weak sound that sounds up to 12 km from the summit. The rays of fire are increasingly observed in the next night. This indicates the potential for a larger eruption is imminent.

To anticipate all possibilities and risks of disaster, PVMBG has raised the status of Gunung Agung from Siaga (level 3) to Awas (level 4) starting from 27/11/2017 at 06:00 WITA. Status Beware is the highest status in volcano status.

Mount Agung observation post in Rendang sub-district of Karangasem Regency reported that the visual visuals of the mountains are clear. Cold-pressure crater smoke is observed in gray with a thick intensity and height of 2,500-3,000 m above the top of the crater. Observed eruption with 3000 m high and gray smoke color. Visible light rays. Non continuous harmonic tremor amplitudes 1 – 10 mm (dominant 1 – 2 mm).

Communities around Mount Agung and climbers / visitors / tourists not to be on, do not climb and do not do any activity in the Estimate Zone of Hazard that is inside the crater area of ​​Mount Agung and in all areas within 8 km from the crater of G. Agung and added sectoral expansion to the North-Northeast and Southeast-South-Southwest as far as 10 km from the crater of G. Agung.

Estimated Zone The dangers are dynamic and continuously evaluated and can be changed at any time following the most recent / latest Gunung Agung observation data.

BNPB coordinates the national potential of TNI, Polri, Basarnas, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transportation, SOEs and others to assist the Local Government in handling eruption of Mount Agung. National Counseling Posts have been activated in Kabupaten Karangasem. BPBD together with other elements continue to perform emergency eruption of Mount Agung.

People within a radius of 8 km and 10 km of expansion are urged to immediately evacuate in an orderly and calm manner. Some people have been self-evacuating since 25/11/2017 night following the eruption of Mount Agung.

Sutopo Purwo Nugroho

Head of Information Data and Public Relations Center of BNPB