Breadcrumb
Volcanic plumes models
Volcanic plumes can inject huge quantities of ash into the atmosphere which can then be spread over large areas by atmospheric winds. The ash is hazardous to aeroplanes, causing damage to engines and airframes, and to people as it falls to the ground.
The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull demonstrated the significant and widespread disruption that can occur from relatively small volcanic eruptions. In order to manage airspace during eruptions and to better forecast the spread of ash in the atmosphere an estimate of the amount of ash being released from the volcano (the source mass flux) is required. My work has focussed on developing a mathematic model of volcanic plumes as they rise from the volcanic vent into the atmosphere.
Meteorology can have a strong effect on volcanic plumes. Our model incorporates detailed atmospheric data and we show that a cross wind can have a strong effect on the rise of the plume, limiting the height to which the plume rises in the atmosphere. We have used these models to develop a new relationship between the rise height of volcanic plumes and the source mass flux that explicitly includes the wind speed. These results will allow improved estimates of the source mass flux to be made for volcanic plumes that are strongly affected by meteorology.
PlumeRise
PlumeRise is a web-tool allowing our model of wind-blown volcanic plumes to be used online.
Papers
Interaction between volcanic plumes and wind during the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption, Iceland.
An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright (2013) American Geophysical Union.
Woodhouse, M.J., A.J. Hogg, J.C. Phillips, and R.S.J. Sparks
Journal of Geophysical Research Solid Earth, 118, 92–109, 2013
Charge structure in volcanic plumes: a comparison of plume properties predicted by an integral plume model to observations of volcanic lightning during the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland.
Woodhouse, M.J., and S.A. Behnke
Bulletin of Volcanology, 76, 2014
Modelling intrusions through quiescent and moving ambients.
Johnson, C.G., A.J. Hogg, H.E. Huppert, R.S.J. Sparks, J.C. Phillips, A.C. Slim, and M.J. Woodhouse
Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 771, 370-406, 2015
Uncertainty analysis of a model of wind-blown volcanic plumes.
Woodhouse, M.J., A.J. Hogg, J.C. Phillips, and J.C. Rougier
Bulletin of Volcanology, 77, 2015
A global sensitivity analysis of the PlumeRise model of volcanic plumes.
Woodhouse, M.J., A.J. Hogg, and J.C. Phillips
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Unsteady turbulent buoyant plumes.
Woodhouse, M.J., J.C. Phillips, and A.J. Hogg
Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 794, 595-638
Presentations available to download
Mathematical Models of Volcanic Plumes
A review of integral models of buoyant plumes and their use in describing volcanic eruption columns. The classical Morton, Taylor & Turner model forms the foundation of the volcanic plume models of Woods. We show how the predictions of these model compare with observations. The effect of atmospheric conditions on the plumes is considered.
Mathematical Models of Volcanic Plumes
An extended review of integral models of buoyant plumes and their use in describing volcanic eruption columns. The classical Morton, Taylor & Turner model forms the foundation of the volcanic plume models of Woods. We show how the predictions of these model compare with observations. The effect of atmospheric conditions on the plumes is considered. Finally, a time dependent plume model is introduced.
The effect of wind on the rise of volcanic plumes: determining the ‘source term’.
Slides from an invited talk at the ESA-EUMETSAT Volcanic Ash Strategic Team meeting in Dublin, March 2013. Meteorology can have strong effect on the rise of volcanic plumes. In particular, cross winds can increase the mixing of atmospheric gases into the plume, reducing the rise height of the plume. In this presentation we demonstrate how integral models of volcanic plumes in a cross wind can be used to determine the source mass flux from observations of the height of plumes during volcanic eruptions.