Theoretical, Experimental and Field Constraints on Volcanic Particle Aggregation ...

• Main Author: Pollastri, Stefano
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Université de Genève 2021
• Subjects: infoeu-repo/classification/ddc/550; Volcanic particle aggregation; Volcanology; Charge; Particles; Iceland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.13097/archive-ouverte/unige:162142; https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:162142

This Ph.D. thesis presents a quantitative description of the mechanisms that control the aggregation of volcanic particles. Besides representing an important process that controls fine ash dispersal during explosive volcanic eruptions, particle aggregation is of great importance in both natural and industrial contexts. It is, for example, the mechanism that controls the first stages of planet formation, as well as the process that allows for the production of pharmaceutical tablets, and some foodstuffs. Although aggregation of volcanic particles has already been studied in the last decades, the importance of developing an accurate model became evident during the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption in Iceland, when the European airspace was closed for several days due to the ash-related hazard to aviation. Since ash aggregation exerts a first-order control on ash dispersal, accurate modelling of aggregation processes it is of primary importance to estimate ash concentration through time and space. Despite field ...