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

Abstract

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 E z ), 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.

Dirty thunderstorms caused by volcano explosive eruptions in Kamchatka by the data of electromagnetic radiation

“…The software-hardware complex for recording atmospherics is described in the paper [4]. The VLF direction finder, located at Karymshina site, that is 390 km from Shiveluch The World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN, http://wwlln.com) allows us to record atmospheric coordinates with the accuracy up to several microseconds [8]. WWLLN records atmospherics from volcanic lightning and gives good results for the monitoring of eruptive cloud propagation in case of optimal location of the network sites [10].…”

Mechanisms of gas formation in eruptive clouds

“…EC propagation monitoring, realized by different methods, allows us to warn about ash hazard that makes it possible to take preventive actions to decrease the consequences. It is mentioned in a number of papers [1][2][3][4] that recording of EMP from accompanying lightning discharges may be one of the methods for EC motion tracing.…”

“…At the same time, powerful explosive eruptions occur from time to time. For some of them, EC rises to the tropopause height (10-12 km) and propagates for hundreds of kilometers accompanied by significant lightning activity [3,4].…”

“…To record EMP from lightning discharges, a direction finder of very low frequencies (VLF) was developed at the Institute of Cosmophysical Research and Radio Wave Propagation (IKIR) FEB RAS. The hardware-software complex for EMR recording was described in the papers [3,4]. Besides the VLF direction finder, EMR from volcanic lightning is recorded at IKIR FEB RAS with time accuracy up to several microseconds by a segment of the World Wide Lightning Location Network (WWLLN, [6,7]).…”

Atmospheric and Ocean Optics: Atmospheric Physics

“…The paper of P. Firstov [3] is devoted to the description of observations over atmospheric and electric effects from volcanic eruptions on the 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.…”