Volcanic Lightning: Observations and Constraints on Mechanisms

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The principal investigators of this interdisciplinary grant, Steve McNutt from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Earle Williams from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are conducting an initial systematic investigation of volcano induced lightning activity. The study of the charging mechanisms in the plume environment, where the critical charging components water and particles are in an extreme state, has the promise of providing better insight into how these quantities drive charging than in the more studied thunderstorm environment, even while drawing on the knowledge of the same. The investigators are concentrating on two principal tasks: 1) Completing a database of global observations of volcanic lightning parameters, and 2) Testing physical models of the phenomenon. An important forward-looking aspect of this work is to identify target volcanoes for improved instrumentation for further study. The broader impacts of this work are the potential to provide a firm foundation for further interdisciplinary research on volcano electrification, increased aircraft safety that would result from better understanding of volcano induced lightning, and the opportunity to demonstrate and teach the utility of interdisciplinary science to students and the public.