by Rosemarie Quintal

Created on: January 22, 2010

Volcanic ash is igneous rock particulate matter either fine, .63mm or as large as 2mm or four fifths of an inch exploded from an active volcano called tephra. Electron microscopes show volcanic ashes to have sharp edges and be porous such that the holes of the ash material allow wind to carry the volcanic ash large distances.

This essay considers the effects of volcanic ash in the atmosphere as ash plumes or eruptions; ash in the atmosphere dangers to flying aircraft and birds; ash in the atmosphere dangers to buildings; and ash in the atmosphere dangers to human beings.

Ash Plumes: The amount of force of volcanic eruptions causes ash to be jettisoned miles above the volcano dispersed by wind continuously over weeks as wind circulates carrying the ash to different earth locations.  Because ash is made up of tephra and gases it is opaque.

If the ash stays near the volcano because there is no wind the day of an eruption, anyone at the volcano living or visiting experiences very low visibility even more serious than fog called vog.

Recently 2008-2009 Kilauea Volcano erupted on the Island of Hawaii, United States causing Park Service employees to evacuate visitors and end resident activities at the volcano because no one could see where they were going.

The ash accompanies various gases. Presumed to be the culprit for colder winters following large volcanic explosions, ash stays in the atmosphere possibly preventing solar heat from reaching earth for six months, but sulfur dioxide gas stays in the atmosphere for up to three years cooling the atmosphere producing a small climate change. See, Chapter 7: Introduction To The Atmosphere http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/7y.htm l

A super volcano could jettison materials into the upper atmosphere comparable to a nuclear war. Volcanic ash studies attempt to speculate about nuclear war studying the impacts of large volcanic eruptions on the atmosphere but have drawn no significant comparisons.

Ash Endangers Air Traffic:  After the eruption of a Russian volcano in 1994, a Boeing 747 had to climb one kilometer more during its flight across the Pacific Ocean to avoid the volcanic ash cloud it encountered at 11 kilometers. 

Pilots downwind from a volcanic eruption are most vulnerable to possible aircraft failure while flying because of a volcanic ash cloud. Unlike weather clouds, because ash clouds contain particulate matter, they can interfere with electrical equipment. The more an electrical

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