The Development of Volcanic Ash Cloud Layers over Hours to Days Due to Atmospheric Turbulence Layering
Volcanic ash clouds often become multilayered and thin with distance from the vent. We explore one mechanism for the development of this layered structure. We review data on the characteristics of turbulence layering in the free atmosphere, as well as examples of observations of layered clouds both...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Atmosphere |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/2/285 |
| _version_ | 1827588517756141568 |
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| author | Marcus Bursik Qingyuan Yang Adele Bear-Crozier Michael Pavolonis Andrew Tupper |
| author_facet | Marcus Bursik Qingyuan Yang Adele Bear-Crozier Michael Pavolonis Andrew Tupper |
| author_sort | Marcus Bursik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Volcanic ash clouds often become multilayered and thin with distance from the vent. We explore one mechanism for the development of this layered structure. We review data on the characteristics of turbulence layering in the free atmosphere, as well as examples of observations of layered clouds both near-vent and distally. We then explore dispersion models that explicitly use the observed layered structure of atmospheric turbulence. The results suggest that the alternation of turbulent and quiescent atmospheric layers provides one mechanism for the development of multilayered ash clouds by modulating vertical particle motion. The largest particles, generally <inline-formula>μ<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>></mo><mn>100</mn><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>m, are little affected by turbulence. For particles in which both settling and turbulent diffusion are important to vertical motion, mostly in the range of 10–100 <inline-formula>μ<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>m, the greater turbulence intensity and more rapid turbulent diffusion in some layers causes these particles to spend greater time in the more turbulent layers, leading to a layering of concentration. The results may have important implications for ash cloud forecasting and aviation safety. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:37:33Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b9ba7ac3e7a4da6bb420b690205b489 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4433 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:37:33Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Atmosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b9ba7ac3e7a4da6bb420b690205b4892023-12-11T18:04:41ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332021-02-0112228510.3390/atmos12020285The Development of Volcanic Ash Cloud Layers over Hours to Days Due to Atmospheric Turbulence LayeringMarcus Bursik0Qingyuan Yang1Adele Bear-Crozier2Michael Pavolonis3Andrew Tupper4Center for Geohazards Studies, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14260, USAEarth Observatory of Singapore and Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, SingaporeBureau of Meteorology, Melbourne, VIC 3001, AustraliaNOAA Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USANatural Hazards Consulting, Montmorency, VIC 3094, AustraliaVolcanic ash clouds often become multilayered and thin with distance from the vent. We explore one mechanism for the development of this layered structure. We review data on the characteristics of turbulence layering in the free atmosphere, as well as examples of observations of layered clouds both near-vent and distally. We then explore dispersion models that explicitly use the observed layered structure of atmospheric turbulence. The results suggest that the alternation of turbulent and quiescent atmospheric layers provides one mechanism for the development of multilayered ash clouds by modulating vertical particle motion. The largest particles, generally <inline-formula>μ<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mo>></mo><mn>100</mn><mo> </mo><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>m, are little affected by turbulence. For particles in which both settling and turbulent diffusion are important to vertical motion, mostly in the range of 10–100 <inline-formula>μ<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">μ</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>m, the greater turbulence intensity and more rapid turbulent diffusion in some layers causes these particles to spend greater time in the more turbulent layers, leading to a layering of concentration. The results may have important implications for ash cloud forecasting and aviation safety.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/2/285turbulenceeddy diffusivityash layervolcanic cloudash cloudPinatubo |
| spellingShingle | Marcus Bursik Qingyuan Yang Adele Bear-Crozier Michael Pavolonis Andrew Tupper The Development of Volcanic Ash Cloud Layers over Hours to Days Due to Atmospheric Turbulence Layering Atmosphere turbulence eddy diffusivity ash layer volcanic cloud ash cloud Pinatubo |
| title | The Development of Volcanic Ash Cloud Layers over Hours to Days Due to Atmospheric Turbulence Layering |
| title_full | The Development of Volcanic Ash Cloud Layers over Hours to Days Due to Atmospheric Turbulence Layering |
| title_fullStr | The Development of Volcanic Ash Cloud Layers over Hours to Days Due to Atmospheric Turbulence Layering |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Development of Volcanic Ash Cloud Layers over Hours to Days Due to Atmospheric Turbulence Layering |
| title_short | The Development of Volcanic Ash Cloud Layers over Hours to Days Due to Atmospheric Turbulence Layering |
| title_sort | development of volcanic ash cloud layers over hours to days due to atmospheric turbulence layering |
| topic | turbulence eddy diffusivity ash layer volcanic cloud ash cloud Pinatubo |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/12/2/285 |
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