The ash plume from Iceland's Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which crippled international air travel in April, held a shocking secret: an unexpected electric charge.
Ash plumes directly over erupting volcanoes have been known to generate lightning, and electrically charged ash has been found in previous plumes up to 30 miles (50 kilometers) from their source volcanoes. (See pictures of lighting in the Eyjafjallajökull volcano's ash plume.)
But according to a new study, electric ash from the Eyjafjallajökull volcano was found a record 745 miles (1,200 kilometers) away from the eruption.
At that distance, it wasn't energy from the eruption itself that charged the ash, said study co-author Giles Harrison, a meteorologist at the University of Reading in the U.K. Based on the average size and shape of particles in the ash, "any initial charging that occurred would have decayed away many times over."
In fact, ash from deep in the volcanic plume was still charged 32 hours after being spewed from the Iceland peak, which suggests that the charge was self-renewing, the scientists say.
The discovery means that many volcanic ash plumes might be electrified, which could have implications for the air-travel industry.
Researchers have determined that the ash plume that hovered over Scotland after the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in April 2010 carried a significant and self-renewing electric charge.
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Shortly after the volcano’s active eruption phase began in mid-April, the Met Office contacted Joseph Ulanowski from the Science and Technology Research Institute at the University of Hertfordshire, who together with Giles Harrison from the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading, had developed a specialist weather balloon that could assess the location and composition of the volcanic ash clouds.
Their balloons, originally designed and used to study the properties of desert dust clouds, are able to assess not only the size of atmospheric particles but also the electric charge present. Measurements made last year with the balloons in Kuwait and off the west coast of Africa showed clearly that desert dust could become strongly electrified aloft. Charging modifies particle behavior, such as how effectively particles grow and are removed by rain.
A hastily scrambled team travelled to a site near Stranraer in Scotland where a balloon was launched, detecting a layer of volcanic ash 4km aloft, about 600m thick, with very abrupt upper and lower edges. From their measurements, the researchers conclude that neither energy from the volcanic source — more than 1200 kilometres away — nor weather conditions could have been responsible for the position of the charge found by the balloon.
The presence of charge deep inside the plume, rather than on its upper and lower edges, contradicts expectations from models assuming solely weather-induced charging of layer clouds.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcanic_ash
Electromagnetic wave insulation
Volcanic ash particles are charged and disturb communication by radio.[24]
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Rain and lightning combined with ash can lead to power outages, breakdowns of communication, and disorientation.[12]
Volcanic ash particles have a maximum residence time in the troposphere of a few weeks. The finest tephra particles remain in the stratosphere for only a few months, they have only minor climatic effects, and they can be spread around the world by high-altitude winds. This suspended material contributes to spectacular sunsets. The major climate influence from volcanic eruptions is caused by gaseous sulfur compounds, chiefly sulfur dioxide, which reacts with OH and water in the stratosphere to create sulfate aerosols with an residence time of about 2–3 years.
http://iopscience.iop.org/1009-0630/7/5/023
Efficiency of Removing Sulfur Dioxide in the Air by Non-Thermal Plasma Along with the Application of the Magnetic Field
Abstract
The non-thermal plasma created by high voltage pulsed power supply can be used to remove sulfur dioxide in the air, but how to increase the removing efficiency is not clear. It is novel to apply the magnetic field in removing SO2 as discussed in this paper. The mechanisms of removing sulfur dioxide by non-thermal plasma along with the application of the magnetic field are analyzed, and the related factors affecting the removal efficiency, such as the magnitude of pulsed voltage, the polarity of the pulse, the layout of the discharge electrode, especially the magnetic field are experimentally investigated. It can be concluded that the purification efficiency is improved significantly by applying the magnetic field.
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