Wellington VAAC Operations during the 2011 Puyehue-Cordon Caulle event
Marcel RouxManager, Wellington VAAC
Meteorological Service of New Zealand Ltd
Focus Areas
• Ash detection• Data exchange,
collaboration and co-ordination
• Confidence levels on the Volcanic Ash Graphic
Image Source: http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/petrology-terms/volcanic-ash1.htm
Ash Detection
• Satellite Imagery– Infra-red and visible– Sulphur Dioxide imagery– Laser-radar imagery – Darwin VAAC
Image Source: http://www.meted.ucar.edu/spaceweather/basic/media_gallery.php
Ash Detection
• Pilot Reports of Ash or No Ash– Routine receipt across NZ
and between Australia and NZ.
– Reports grounding flight operations
Ceilometer and LIDAR
• CL31 – ceilometer on certain of MetService’s AWSs
• 2 CL viewing licences.– 17 locations around NZ.
• NIWA operated LIDAR, located in Lauder
Images Copyright Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited 2012
Pilot Reports
• Evidence of ash and no ash in satellite imagery
• Conflicting Pilot Reports– NO ASH and ASH reports
over similar flight routes.Image Source: http://franksemails.com/pics/erj190-in-argentina/
MTSAT Imagery
MTSAT imagery courtesy Japan Meteorological Agency
11 June 2011 0100UTC
MODIS Imagery
Ash
Ash
Data Exchange, collaboration and co-ordination
• Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)• Darwin VAAC• Airways Corporation NZ• Air New Zealand Flight Dispatch
Data Exchange, collaboration and co-ordination
Consistency
Possible VAG Confidence Levels
• Confidence in the position of lateral boundaries of ash cloud– High = Black–Medium = Blue– Low = Red
• Same technique could be used to assess confidence in the vertical extent
Confidence of Vertical Extent
• Objective confidence levels– IR Temp and Sounding vs
Lidar, Radar and PIREP– Amount of consistent
observationsImage Copyright Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited 2012
Image Courtesy of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
Example of Confidence Technique
Example of Confidence Technique
Example Confidence Chart