[Folda] PhD Opportunity in UK: "Tracking and measuring volcanic plumes using drones"

[Deirdre Clark]

The following is a PhD opportunity in the UK. Please note that full funding
is only available to UK passport holders or EU passport holders who have
lived in the UK enough years.



http://www.nercdtp.leeds.ac.uk/projects/index.php?id=502




Tracking and measuring volcanic plumes using drones

Evgenia Ilyinskaya (SEE), Dr Tjarda Roberts (CNRS Orleans), Dr Melissa
Pfeffer (Icelandic Meteorological Office), Dr Barbara Brooks (NCAS), Dr
Anja Schmidt (SEE)

*Project partner(s):* Icelandic Meteorological Office (CASE), CNRS Orleans

*Contact email:* e.ilyinskaya at leeds.ac.uk

Actively degassing volcanoes emit so-called 'plumes', which are very
complex mixtures of volcanic and atmospheric gases and small aerosol
particles, such as sulphate. Knowing the aerosol size distributions and its
chemical composition are key requirements for assessing the environmental,
climatic and human health impacts of volcanic emissions. In this project
the student will equip a drone with a lightweight aerosol and gas sensors.
The project will involve testing of both the sensors and the drone. As part
of the CASE studentship, the student will spend at least 3 months at the
Icelandic Meteorological Office (IMO - Iceland's volcano observatory).
Actively degassing volcanoes in other parts of the world, such as Italy or
Central America, will also be visited. At many volcanoes the plume is very
difficult to sample due to safety issues. Using drones is therefore an
exciting new field of research, which is opening up important scientific
opportunities. Airborne measurements allow several things that a
ground-based set up does not, for example, measurements very close to the
degassing vent, and vertical and longitudinal profiling of the plume. Drone
work on volcanic plumes has so far focussed predominantly on gas
measurements, with relatively few attempts to measure aerosol particles.
This is a novel project with a high impact potential. It will develop new
and much needed technology for making key source-term observations that are
needed for volcanic plume dispersion models but are rarely obtained. It is
also anticipated to yield important insights into the dispersion and
evolution of volcanic plumes in the atmosphere with implications for health
hazards and climatic effects. The field data from the drone will be
interpreted in terms of both volcano and atmospheric processes. The aim
will be to produce a highly novel plume 'cross-section' map of aerosol size
distribution (which is not possible through ground-based or balloon-borne
measurements). These observations can be used to estimate the aerosol
emission flux, which is a key source parameter for dispersion models. The
plume will also be tracked by the drone as it travels away from the
volcanic vent, and the results will be interpreted in order to understand
how plume composition changes with time (e.g. the very important process of
conversion of SO2 gas to sulphate particles). The student will also have
the opportunity to set-up and run dispersion and aerosol microphysics
models to calculate the plume dispersion and predict the atmospheric and
climatic effects of the volcanic emissions. The student will greatly
benefit from the CASE partnership with IMO as they will be experiencing the
practical applications of volcanological research and will be able to carry
out drone test flights with relatively little air control restrictions. In
addition, at IMO the student will have the opportunity to take part in
real-time volcano monitoring and multiple fieldtrips to Iceland's active
volcanoes. There will also be an opportunity to spend time at the UK Met
Office who are responsible for operational forecasting of volcanic plumes
in the UK air space. Applications are invited from graduates with
background in engineering, atmospheric, earth or environmental science,
chemistry, physics or maths. Other natural and physical science degrees
will also be considered. Relevant Masters level qualifications are
welcomed. The applicant should have a good command of both written and
spoken English. Very importantly, the applicant should be willing and
capable of fieldwork in potentially difficult conditions.
Related undergraduate subjects:

   - Chemistry
   - Earth science
   - Engineering
   - Environmental science
   - Natural sciences
   - Physical science
   - Physics





-- 
Deirdre Clark, PhD Research Fellow
University of Iceland | Háskóli Íslands
Institute of Earth Sciences
Sturlugata 7, Askja, Room 265
101 Reykjavík, Iceland

+354 525 5414 (Office)
+354 690 5745 (Mobile)
dec2 at hi.is
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