Volcanic ash can threaten air traffic
The presence of volcanic ash in the upper atmosphere presents multiple threats to aviation. It not only reduces visibility and abrades the exposed areas of the aircraft, the fine particles can also endanger the operation of aircraft engines. Recent experiments undertaken by volcanologists, led by Professor Donald Dingwell, Director of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at LMU Munich, have shown that reheated ash becomes molten and begins to flow at temperatures around 1050°C. The resulting viscous droplets can adhere to surfaces, and could thus damage jet-engine turbines more severely than is generally assumed. The new work is described in two papers that appear in the Journal of Applied Volcanology and Geophysical Research Letters.