Registration of Atmospheric-Electric Effects from Volcanic Clouds on the Kamchatka Peninsula (Russia)

• Published in: Atmosphere
• Main Authors: Pavel P. Firstov, Evgeniy I. Malkin, Rinat R. Akbashev, Gennadiy I. Druzhin, Nina V. Cherneva, Robert H. Holzworth, Vladimir N. Uvarov, Ivan E. Stasiy
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020
• Subjects: volcanic eruptions; atmospheric electric field; volcanic lightning; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; Kamchatka Peninsula; Kamchatka
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos11060634; https://doaj.org/article/da3f245ec00742559d8c0dd8cc189c7a

The paper is devoted to the description of observations over atmospheric and electric effects from volcanic eruptions on Kamchatka peninsula (Russia) and perspectives of their development. To collect information about atmospheric-electric effects accompanying the eruptions of Kamchatka volcanoes, three sensor networks and a VLF radio direction finding station are used. The World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN) provides information on high-current lightning discharges that occur during the development of an eruptive cloud (EC). Variations in the electric field of the atmosphere (AEF <math display="inline"> <semantics> <msub> <mi>E</mi> <mi>z</mi> </msub> </semantics> </math> ), during the passage of EC, were obtained by a network of electric field mills at the sites for volcanic activity observations. Seismic detector network was used to make precision reference to the eruptions. Based on the data obtained, a description is given of the dynamics of eruptions of the most active volcanoes in Kamchatka and the Northern Kuril Islands (Shiveluch, Bezymianny, Ebeko). The paper presents a simulation of the response of the atmospheric electric field, which showed that the approximation by the field of distributed charges makes it possible to estimate the volume charges of EC. The fact of a multi-stage volcanic thunderstorm is confirmed. The first stage is associated with the formation of an eruptive column, and the second with the emergence, development and transfer of EC. Registration of electrical and electromagnetic processes in eruptive clouds can be one of the components of complex observations of volcanic eruptions in order to assess the ash hazard for air transport.