Support to Aviation Control Service (SACS): an online service for near-real-time satellite monitoring of volcanic plumes

Volcanic eruptions emit plumes of ash and gases in the atmosphere, potentially at very high altitudes. Ash rich plumes are hazardous for airplanes as ash is very abrasive and easily melts inside their engines. With more than 50 active volcanoes per year and the ever increasing number of commercial flights, the safety of airplanes is a real concern. Satellite measurements are ideal for monitoring global volcanic activity and, in combination with atmospheric dispersion models, to track and forecast volcanic plumes. Here we present the Support to Aviation Control Service (SACS, http://sacs.aeronomie.be), which is a free online service initiated by ESA for the near real-time (NRT) satellite monitoring of volcanic plumes of SO2 and ash. It combines data from two UV-visible (OMI, GOME-2) and two infrared (AIRS, IASI) spectrometers. This new multi-sensor warning system of volcanic plumes, running since April 2012, is based on the detection of SO2 and is optimised to avoid false alerts while at the same time limiting the number of notifications in case of large plumes. The system shows successful results with 95% of our notifications corresponding to true volcanic activity.

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