LIDAR showing ash hitting boundary-layer in England
Posted by JAC on 4/17/2010, 9:50 pm
On the graphic the left vertical hand axis shows the height in metres above the observing site, which in this case is Cardington in Bedfordshire.

The horizontal axis displays time from approximately 0800 to 1230 BST on Friday, 16 April 2010.

The volcanic ash plume is the bluish-yellow line which starts at a height of around 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) and slowly descends to around 1,400 metres (4,600 feet).

This LIDAR plot was produced by the University of Manchester,





Met Office Doppler LIDARS (a type of radar) have been detecting the ash plume above the UK.

Throughout this period the height of the ash plume has been steadily decreasing and is now beginning to interact with the top of the boundary layer.

LIDARS (Light Detection and Ranging) are useful tools for measuring cloud droplets and other particles within the atmosphere.

The measurements can be made through time and across large areas.

The boundary layer is the very lowest part of the atmosphere, in other words, where we see most of the influence from our daily weather.

As you can see from the graphic above, the height of the boundary layer varies with temperature.

The colors represent various different aerosol particles present at that time in the atmosphere.
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New Swarm under Eyjafjallajokull - Nearby Towns being Evacuted - JAC, 4/14/2010, 7:21 am
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