Volcanic Ash Monitoring and FOrecaSting between Sicilia and Malta arEa and sharinG of the resUlts foR aviatiOn safety

Programme 2007 - 2013 Italy - Malta (IT-MT)

Date of latest update: 2022-03-29

Description

Description (IT):

Le nubi eruttive disperdono in atmosfera una grande quantità di cenere vulcanica che costituisce un grande rischio per l’aviazione. L’accidentale incontro della cenere vulcanica con un aereo provoca danni alle superfici di controllo, ai parabrezza e alle luci di atterraggio, perdita di visibilità e guasti alla strumentazione di navigazione e di controllo e nei casi peggiori lo spegnimento del motore. E’ quindi molto importante definire e prevedere la regione che, in caso di un’attività esplosiva dell’Etna, sarà interessata dalla presenza di cenere vulcanica. Il progetto prevede la realizzazione di un sistema automatico per il monitoraggio e la previsione della dispersione delle ceneri vulcaniche nell'area transfrontaliera. Sarà prevista l’installazione di strumenti che siano in grado di fornire importanti informazioni sull’attività esplosiva e sul materiale eruttato e l’utilizzo di modelli di dispersione delle ceneri vulcaniche capaci di prevedere la posizione e la quota della nube eruttiva. Il sistema sviluppato sarà capace di identificare le zone tra la Sicilia e Malta in cui vi sarà un’alta probabilità di trovare concentrazioni dannose di ceneri e gas vulcanici e produrrà dei sistemi di allerta evidenziando le zone che dovrebbero essere interdette alla circolazione aerea. I risultati saranno diffusi alle autorità competenti, e fornendo informazioni anche sulla caduta di ceneri vulcaniche al suolo, saranno di grande utilità per tutti i cittadini, le attività sociali e produttive delle aree interessate.

Description (EN):

Volcanic clouds disperse a great amount of volcanic ash that constitutes a great hazard to aviation. The accidental encounter between volcanic ash and airplanes causes damages to control surfaces, windshields and landing lights, loss of visibility and failure of critical navigational and operation instrumentations and in the worst case the failure of the engine. It is hence very important to define and forecast the region, which will be interested by the presence of volcanic ash in the case of explosive activity. The project will realize an automatic system for the monitoring and forecasting of volcanic ash dispersal between Sicily and Malta. New instruments will be installed and they will be able to gather important data on explosive activity and on volcanic particles and the use of tephra dispersal models will be able to forecast the locations and the height of the volcanic clouds. The developed system will be able to inspect the region between Sicily and Malta in which there will be a high probability to find dangerous concentration of volcanic ash and gas, and will produce alert systems highlighting the regions that will be interdicted to aviation. Results will be available to authorities and, giving also information of the tephra deposit, they will be very useful to community, social and productive activities of the interested areas.

Achievements (EN):

Etna’s volcanic clouds disperse a large quantity of ash that can cause danger to civil and military air traffi c in the area between Sicily and Malta. Ash hitting aircraft in fl ight can cause serious damage to surfaces and windscreens, with consequent loss of visibility and malfunctioning of instrumentation and, in serious cases, the engines. The VAMOS SEGURO project has set up an automatic monitoring and forecasting system of Etna’s volcanic ash dispersion in the cross-border area thanks to the use of complex instrumentation among which the LIDAR system, developed ad hoc by CNISM researchers. This system is able to identify the areas between Sicily and Malta that, in the case of explosive activity, will be hit by dangerous concentrations of volcanic ash and gas and it is also able to alert air traffi ccontrol authorities. The newly installed measuring devices are able to collect important data on volcanic activity and particles released into the atmosphere. This monitoring is fl anked by models able forecast the dispersion of the volcanic clouds. The value of the project has been recognized at international level and its results have been disseminated in numerous international scientifi c publications and conferences. The importance of the results achieved by the project have also been recognized by the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Regional Committee that chose the project as European best practices in the mitigation and prevention of natural risks. • 1 LIDAR system in Sicily and Malta • 1 interface platform

Website: http://www.italiamalta.eu/

Thematic information

Innovation capacity and awareness-raising Managing natural and man-made threats, risk management Transport and mobility

Partners (4)

Lead Partner: ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI GEOFISICA E VULCANOLOGIA

Address: Piazza Roma 2, 95123 Catania, Italy

Legal status: n/a

Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania

Name: Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania

Address: Via S. Sofia 78, 95123 Catania, Italy

Legal status: n/a

Atmospheric Research Physic Department University of Malta

Name: Atmospheric Research Physic Department University of Malta

Address: University of Malta, MSD 2080 Msida, Malta

Legal status: n/a

Comune di Montedoro, provincia di Caltanissetta

Name: Comune di Montedoro, provincia di Caltanissetta

Address: Piazza Umberto I, 93010 Montedoro, Italy

Legal status: n/a

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Partners and Projects info

Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica - Osservatorio Astrofisico di Catania

Volcanic Ash Monitoring and FOrecaSting between Sicilia and Malta arEa and sharinG of the resUlts foR aviatiOn safety

Partners and Projects info

Atmospheric Research Physic Department University of Malta

Volcanic Ash Monitoring and FOrecaSting between Sicilia and Malta arEa and sharinG of the resUlts foR aviatiOn safety

Partners and Projects info

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia

Volcanic Ash Monitoring and FOrecaSting between Sicilia and Malta arEa and sharinG of the resUlts foR aviatiOn safety

Partners and Projects info

Comune di Montedoro, provincia di Caltanissetta

Volcanic Ash Monitoring and FOrecaSting between Sicilia and Malta arEa and sharinG of the resUlts foR aviatiOn safety

Lead partner

Project partner

Summary

Project name (EN): Volcanic Ash Monitoring and FOrecaSting between Sicilia and Malta arEa and sharinG of the resUlts foR aviatiOn safety

Project acronym: VAMOS SEGURO

Project start date: 2011-03-15

Project end date: 2013-03-14

Project status: closed

Total budget/expenditure: EUR 837 884.00

Total EU funding (amount): EUR 498 499.50

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

Financing programme

2007 - 2013 Italy - Malta (IT-MT)

Last month that data in keep.eu was retrieved from the Programme's website or received from the Programme

2015-07-01

No. of projects in keep.eu / Total no. of projects (% of projects in keep.eu)

25 / 25 (100%)

No. of project partnerships in keep.eu / Total no. of project partnerships (% of project partnerships in keep.eu)

135 / 135 (100%)

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Volcanic Ash Monitoring and FOrecaSting between Sicilia and Malta arEa and sharinG of the resUlts foR aviatiOn safety

Description

Thematic information

Partners (4)

Partners map

Summary

Information regarding the data in keep.eu on the programme financing this project

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