EXPLOSIVE VOLCANISM HAZARD OF EARTH'S TALLEST VOLCANOES FOR AVIATION

Volcanic ash plumes can be very hazardous to airplanes that fly through them. Even in remote places like Alaska and Kamchatka, it is important to know when major eruptions occur, so that air traffic can avoid a potentially hazardous ash cloud. Currently, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) monitors global subaerial volcanoes using satellite imaging to rapidly identify concentrations of volcanic ash near erupting volcanoes. The VAAC is separated into nine zones, each responsible for monitoring volcanic ash in their assigned airspace. The tallest volcanoes pose a special threat to aviation because eruptions of these can rapidly and easily inject ash ~10 km into the atmosphere where cruising aircraft fly. Tall volcanoes also have more silica-rich eruptions, which tend to erupt explosively. By analyzing the tallest subaerial volcanoes around the world, we are creating an active Google Map with the volcanoes, their hazard levels and descriptions. In order to accomplish this we have broken down our research into three stages: data collection from EarthChem, volcanology data from the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and data from various peer reviewed and scholarly articles. Stage two centers on ranking the tall volcanoes based on five important factors: height, chemical composition, tectonic setting (most are convergent margin volcanoes), location and activity (whether a volcano is active, dormant or extinct). Finally in stage three, we will give each volcano an Aviation Hazard ranking number. This ranking will be based on the potential hazard to aviation for each of the large volcanoes in each VAAC zone, and then all volcanoes, along with their information and ranking, will be added into our Google Earth map.