Volcanology

This project focuses on improving our understanding of the formation of lightning and its characteristics in volcanic plumes. Plumes of volcanic ash and water commonly form above volcanoes and produce lightning, but the connection between lightning characteristics and the properties of plume particles, such as the size and quantity of ash and water within the plume, remains unclear. Constraining the size and quantity of particles within volcanic plumes is important because those values are direct inputs for plume dispersion modeling, which informs air traffic authorities for plane rerouting and local hazard mitigation organizations. This project aims to improve our understanding of the role of ash and water in plume electrification. This will help enable the use of lightning to indicate the presence of a volcanic plume and provide characteristics of the particles composing it, which will improve volcano monitoring and hazard mitigation.

This project is sponsored by NASA.