Ash clouds generated by erupting volcanoes represent a serious hazard to military and commercial aviation. The dispersion modeling system of the Atmospheric Release Advisory Capability (ARAC) has been used to model the cloud resulting from the eruption of the Montserrat volcano in December 1997. A clone of the ARAC system, now being installed at the Air Force Weather Agency (AFWA), will enable AFWA to provide hazard guidance to military operations in the vicinity of erupting volcanoes. This paper presents ARAC’s modeling results and discusses potential application of similar calculations for AFWA support during future events.
The 8th Conference on Aviation, Range, and Aerospace Meteorology