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Volcanic ash impacts: research and collaboration continues

13 May 2010

The eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull is providing the Natural Environment Research Council with a unique opportunity to carry out some valuable research, whilst assisting the Met Office and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to obtain data on the ash plume over Britain.

The measurements and samples collected by NERC's Dornier aircraft during the first days of the ash emergency contributed greatly to the agreement with the aviation industry which allowed UK airspace to reopen. These, together with data from the BAe146 atmospheric research aircraft, satellites and ground-based lidar and radar, will help improve atmospheric models for future use.

NERC continues to work closely with the Met Office, the CAA and the government to deal with issues arising from this situation.

Professor Stephen Mobbs, Director of NERC's National Centre for Atmospheric Science (NCAS), and Dr Susan Loughlin, Head of Volcanology at the British Geological Survey (BGS), are part of a scientific delegation preparing to travel to Iceland within the next few days to discuss collaborative work on the impacts of the volcanic eruption. The pair have also been appointed to scientific and operational advisory groups set up by the government to deal with this and future environmental emergencies.

Research into the environmental consequences and analysis of the ash plume is still ongoing at many of NERC's research centres and facilities. Current projects include a National Oceanography Centre (NOC) investigation of the ash effects on marine ecosystems, and an NCAS comparison of atmospheric models with satellite images.

Further information

NERC Press Office
Natural Environment Research Council
Polaris House, North Star Avenue
Swindon, SN2 1EU
Tel: 01793 411727 or 411561
Mob: 07917 086369 or 557215

Press release: 19/10

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