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Performance assessment of a volcanic ash transport model mini-ensemble used for inverse modeling of the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption

Kristiansen, N. I. and Stohl, A. and Prata, A. J. and Bukowiecki, N. and Dacre, H. and Eckhardt, S. and Henne, S. and Hort, M. C. and Johnson, B. T. and Marenco, F. and Neininger, B. and Reitebuch, O. and Seibert, P. and Thomson, D. J. and Webster, H. N. and Weinzierl, B.. (2012) Performance assessment of a volcanic ash transport model mini-ensemble used for inverse modeling of the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption. Journal of Geophysical Research JGR / D - Atmospheres, 117 (D20). D00U11.

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Official URL: https://edoc.unibas.ch/74008/

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Abstract

The requirement to forecast volcanic ash concentrations was amplified as a response to the 2010 Eyjafjallajokull eruption when ash safety limits for aviation were introduced in the European area. The ability to provide accurate quantitative forecasts relies to a large extent on the source term which is the emissions of ash as a function of time and height. This study presents source term estimations of the ash emissions from the Eyjafjallajokull eruption derived with an inversion algorithm which constrains modeled ash emissions with satellite observations of volcanic ash. The algorithm is tested with input from two different dispersion models, run on three different meteorological input data sets. The results are robust to which dispersion model and meteorological data are used. Modeled ash concentrations are compared quantitatively to independent measurements from three different research aircraft and one surface measurement station. These comparisons show that the models perform reasonably well in simulating the ash concentrations, and simulations using the source term obtained from the inversion are in overall better agreement with the observations (rank correlation = 0.55, Figure of Merit in Time (FMT) = 25-46%) than simulations using simplified source terms (rank correlation = 0.21, FMT = 20-35%). The vertical structures of the modeled ash clouds mostly agree with lidar observations, and the modeled ash particle size distributions agree reasonably well with observed size distributions. There are occasionally large differences between simulations but the model mean usually outperforms any individual model. The results emphasize the benefits of using an ensemble-based forecast for improved quantification of uncertainties in future ash crises.
Faculties and Departments:05 Faculty of Science > Departement Umweltwissenschaften > Geowissenschaften > Atmospheric Sciences (Kalberer)
UniBasel Contributors:Bukowiecki, Nicolas
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:American Geophysical Union
ISSN:2169-897X
e-ISSN:2169-8996
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Identification Number:
Last Modified:16 Dec 2020 16:39
Deposited On:16 Dec 2020 16:39

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