Measuring the density of volcanic ash in airspace using meteorological speed sensors
Air travellers have faced a number of disruptions and disturbances over the last few years, thanks principally to volcanic eruptions and the lingering effects of ash particles in the air. First there was the eruption in 2010 of the Icelandic volcano, Eyjafjallajökull, which caused the cancellation of thousands of flights and the closure of hundreds of airports through northern Europe: then there was last year's eruption of the Chilean volcano, Puyrhue-Cordon Caulle which caused chaos in South America and forced the cancellation of hundreds of Qantas flights in Australia and New Zealand.
There were understandable and widespread criticisms of both the airlines and the civil aviation authorities for the way they went immediately into lock-down: many critics felt the reaction was both disproportionate and illogical as there was no provable evidence to suggest that jet engines would be adversely affected by tiny airborne ash particles. However, in fairness to the authorities they were left with little choice, given passenger safety had to be their number one priority. Yet, could they have done things differently? Well, it appears perhaps they could. The Swiss authorities managed to keep all of its airports open during the Icelandic crisis after conducting its own tests to ascertain the levels of ash within its airspace using a motorised glider equipped with GNSS and LIDAR equipment along with a laser-driven aerosol particle counter.
The pilot of that particular aircraft was Jorg Hacker, Associate Professor of Airborne Research Australia, and head of Environmental Research at Flinders University, Adelaide. He has recently conducted further tests in Tasmania on behalf of Qantas Airlines to check the levels of the residual ash in Australian airspace after the Chilean eruption. Using a specially designed ECO-Dimona aircraft packed with scientific instruments, Hacker determined that there was no longer any danger posed by the retreating ash cloud.
Although the motorised glider was not pressurised, Hacker and his co-pilot were able to take their aircraft up to altitudes of over 20,000 feet using oxygen cylinders. The aircraft's detachable wing pods and fuselage were stuffed full of GPS and LIDAR technology and also carried the latest meteorological speed sensors to measure wind speed, temperature, humidity and air-particulates. Hacker's task was to capture air samples using an iso-kinetic outlet attached to the aerosol particle counter.
The iso-kinetic outlet slowed down the speed of the air so that it could be accurately measured and analysed by laser. This information was fed to the banks of computers onboard and cross-referenced with GPS co-ordinates and LIDAR mapping to give a real-time view of exactly what was happening outside the plane and allowed the vertical profiling of any pollutants that were present in the atmosphere. This information was then transmitted back to the ground for further analysis.
It's hoped that this technology will be embraced by other countries, so that early tests on air quality and safety can be carried out in the event of any further eruptions. Grounding aircraft is very costly, and is something the airlines would obviously prefer to avoid if at all possible. The short grounding of Australian planes over the course of just two days cost Qantas an estimated $21 million.
There were understandable and widespread criticisms of both the airlines and the civil aviation authorities for the way they went immediately into lock-down: many critics felt the reaction was both disproportionate and illogical as there was no provable evidence to suggest that jet engines would be adversely affected by tiny airborne ash particles. However, in fairness to the authorities they were left with little choice, given passenger safety had to be their number one priority. Yet, could they have done things differently? Well, it appears perhaps they could. The Swiss authorities managed to keep all of its airports open during the Icelandic crisis after conducting its own tests to ascertain the levels of ash within its airspace using a motorised glider equipped with GNSS and LIDAR equipment along with a laser-driven aerosol particle counter.
The pilot of that particular aircraft was Jorg Hacker, Associate Professor of Airborne Research Australia, and head of Environmental Research at Flinders University, Adelaide. He has recently conducted further tests in Tasmania on behalf of Qantas Airlines to check the levels of the residual ash in Australian airspace after the Chilean eruption. Using a specially designed ECO-Dimona aircraft packed with scientific instruments, Hacker determined that there was no longer any danger posed by the retreating ash cloud.
Although the motorised glider was not pressurised, Hacker and his co-pilot were able to take their aircraft up to altitudes of over 20,000 feet using oxygen cylinders. The aircraft's detachable wing pods and fuselage were stuffed full of GPS and LIDAR technology and also carried the latest meteorological speed sensors to measure wind speed, temperature, humidity and air-particulates. Hacker's task was to capture air samples using an iso-kinetic outlet attached to the aerosol particle counter.
The iso-kinetic outlet slowed down the speed of the air so that it could be accurately measured and analysed by laser. This information was fed to the banks of computers onboard and cross-referenced with GPS co-ordinates and LIDAR mapping to give a real-time view of exactly what was happening outside the plane and allowed the vertical profiling of any pollutants that were present in the atmosphere. This information was then transmitted back to the ground for further analysis.
It's hoped that this technology will be embraced by other countries, so that early tests on air quality and safety can be carried out in the event of any further eruptions. Grounding aircraft is very costly, and is something the airlines would obviously prefer to avoid if at all possible. The short grounding of Australian planes over the course of just two days cost Qantas an estimated $21 million.