Day–night monitoring of volcanic so2 and ash clouds for aviation avoidance at northern polar latitudes

• Published in: Remote Sensing
• Main Authors: Krotkov, Nickolay, Realmuto, Vincent, Li, Can, Seftor, Colin, Li, Jason, Brentzel, Kelvin, Stuefer, Martin, Cable, Jay, Dierking, Carl, Delamere, Jennifer, Schneider, David, Tamminen, Johanna, Hassinen, Seppo, Ryyppö, Timo, Murray, John
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech 2021
• Subjects: Aviation geophysical hazards; Infrared remote sensing; Satellite direct readout; Ultraviolet remote sensing; Volcanic ash; Volcanic sulfur dioxide; Anchorage; Arctic; Fairbanks; Sodankylä; Alaska
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/15543; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13194003

We describe NASA’s Applied Sciences Disasters Program, which is a collaborative project between the Direct Readout Laboratory (DRL), ozone processing team, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Geographic Information Network of Alaska (GINA), and Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), to expedite the processing and delivery of direct readout (DR) volcanic ash and sulfur dioxide (SO2) satellite data. We developed low-latency quantitative retrievals of SO2 column density from the solar backscattered ultraviolet (UV) measurements using the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) spectrometers as well as the thermal infrared (TIR) SO2 and ash indices using Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instruments, all flying aboard US polar-orbiting meteorological satellites. The VIIRS TIR indices were developed to address the critical need for nighttime coverage over northern polar regions. Our UV and TIR SO2 and ash software packages were designed for the DRL’s International Planetary Observation Processing Package (IPOPP); IPOPP runs operationally at GINA and FMI stations in Fairbanks, Alaska, and Sodankylä, Finland. The data are produced within 30 min of satellite overpasses and are distributed to the Alaska Volcano Observatory and Anchorage Volcanic Ash Advisory Center. FMI receives DR data from GINA and posts composite Arctic maps for ozone, volcanic SO2, and UV aerosol index (UVAI, proxy for ash or smoke) on its public website and provides DR data to EUMETCast users. The IPOPP-based software packages are available through DRL to a broad DR user community worldwide.