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En los \u00faltimos 50 a\u00f1os, m\u00e1s de un centenar de aviones comerciales han sufrido incidentes en vuelo a consecuencia de nubes volc\u00e1nicas. Entre los percances m\u00e1s conocidos est\u00e1 el de un Boeing 747 de British Airways al que, en junio de 1982, se le pararon sus 4 motores a su paso por Indonesia. Otro 747 de KLM sufri\u00f3 exactamente el mismo tipo de episodio sobre Alaska unos a\u00f1os m\u00e1s tarde. Los volcanes Galunggung y Redoubt fueron los culpables en cada caso.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Few spectacles in nature are as breathtaking as the eruption of a volcano. If the scene can be seen at night, believe me, it is one that is not easily forgotten. However, as in other facets of life, what brings us beauty on the one hand, threatens us on the other. For, in addition to the danger posed by the eruption itself, there is a risk that particularly affects the aeronautical world: ash clouds<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a recent episode that has enjoyed a prominence and follow-up never before given to this type of phenomena: The eruption of the Eyjafjallaj\u00f6kul volcano (Iceland) in 2010. But there are many others less relevant, such as those of Popocat\u00e9pel (Mexico), Etna (Italy), Sangeang Api (Indonesia), Puyehue (Chile) or Ubinas (Peru), as well as dozens more, whose effects have been, among others, the suppression of aircraft flights in their vicinity due to the threat posed by ash emissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The case of the Icelandic volcano was particularly significant. It gave rise to to the further closure of airspace<\/strong> since World War II, with an impact on European airlines of 1.7 billion euros and an effect on global GDP of almost 5 billion euros.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contrary to what some people think, the problem is not the remote possibility that the eruption will literally overwhelm an aircraft passing overhead, or that the heat of the molten lava (between 700 and 1,200 degrees Celsius) could melt any object passing vertically. It is unlikely that a plane will be allowed to get close enough to a volcano for any of this to happen. The danger we are talking about, and whose geographical scope can be continental in scope<\/strong>is that of the ash expelled by the volcano.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But why can volcanic ash be dangerous for aircraft?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are four main reasons:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not all volcanoes are potentially dangerous in this sense. The \"Hawaiian\" type, some of which are among the most historically active, do not emit ash. However, the \"Vulcanians or Vesuvians<\/strong>\"They are really threatening both because of the type of eruption and because of the usual emission of ash and other associated phenomena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In view of the evidence of some aeronautical incidents, such as those mentioned above, caused by ash clouds, ICAO, in collaboration with WMO (World Meteorological Organization), established in 1987 the IAVW (International Airways Volcano Watch)<\/strong> to monitor the potential hazards to air traffic from volcanoes on a global level. Since that time, a series of operational directives and procedures<\/strong> aimed at minimising the impact of eruptions and increasing safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the Icelandic volcano event in 2010, the ICAO has also mandated the IVATF (International Volcanic Ash Task Force) to assess the needs of civil aviation to anticipate such events.<\/strong>as well as to determine the necessary actions in each case. It also designated nine specialised zonal meteorological centres<\/strong> as volcanic ash control points (London, Toulouse, Montreal, Washington, Anchorage, Tokyo, Darwin, Wellington and Buenos Aires). These centres generally disseminate three standard types of information:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In parallel to the work of official bodies, there are also companies that are devoting a significant R&D effort to the development of new and improved tools for early detection<\/strong> the possible presence of volcanic ash in the air and thus take preventive action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A success story<\/strong> rese\u00f1able lo llev\u00f3 a cabo un grupo liderado por Airbus en el que tambi\u00e9n intervinieron empresas como Easyjet o Nicarnica Aviation. Probaron con excelentes resultados un sistema denominado AVOID<\/strong> que, instalado en un avi\u00f3n, fue capaz de detectar la presencia de cenizas a 60 km de distancia por delante de la aeronave. Y no solo eso, sino que aport\u00f3 anticipadamente datos sobre su densidad, concentraci\u00f3n y movilidad. Disponer de estos datos con una antelaci\u00f3n suficiente permite, no solo alertar a la tripulaci\u00f3n sobre el posible riesgo, sino adem\u00e1s, poner en marcha un protocolo adecuado que permita minimizar su afecci\u00f3n al vuelo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n El sistema AVOID es un dispositivo que provee datos en tiempo real basados en un muestreo r\u00e1pido sobre la proyecci\u00f3n de im\u00e1genes de c\u00e1maras sincronizadas de infrarrojos. Una vez obtenida la informaci\u00f3n, se combina con informaci\u00f3n del GPS y los datos de velocidad del aire, con lo que se obtiene un mapa tridimensional de la nube de ceniza y su trayectoria prevista. Esta tecnolog\u00eda permite, en funci\u00f3n de la concentraci\u00f3n de cenizas, detecciones que oscilan entre los 50 y los 100 km, tanto de d\u00eda como de noche. A velocidad de crucero convencional, esto permite una anticipaci\u00f3n de 7-10 minutos al piloto de la aeronave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This information is not only useful for the aircraft itself, which detects and processes it, but it can also be used to share<\/strong> with the zonal centres and thus keep other aircraft without the system informed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Contrary to what some may fantasise, most natural phenomena cannot be mastered<\/strong>. Pero no cabe duda de que la tecnolog\u00eda y el conocimiento son factores clave para minimising its impact<\/strong>. For its part, the aeronautical industry has, among its priority objectives, to adopt appropriate measures in the fields of information, organisation, prevention and innovation in order to maintaining security<\/strong> at its highest level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
In the 1980s, the ICAO set up a specific monitoring office for volcanic phenomena.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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R&D efforts are focused on obtaining predictive information on the nature and mobility of ash clouds.<\/h5>\n\n\n\n