Last week the KAIROS project flew to Guatemala to attend the 12th edition of the Cities on Volcanoes conference, which took place from 11 to 17 February. This is a transdisciplinary international conference that deals specifically with volcanic risk, its social and cultural context, and how societies live with and make sense of their volcanic environment.
One of the four main themes of the conference is "Volcano monitoring and hazard assessment for risk management". For this theme, the KAIROS team presented a poster showing the project's solution for volcano prediction.
KAIROS AI-digital solution for predicting adverse sulphur clouds impacting airspace operations
Using state-of-the-art sulfur dioxide (SO2) observations from low Earth orbit (LEO) and geostationary (GEO) satellite sensors operating in the ultraviolet and infrared spectral range, the goal of the KAIROS system is to provide aviation stakeholders with precise digital SO2 forecasts at longer lead times compatible with decision support tools. This enables them to mitigate the impacts of volcanic clouds on their operations.
The primary sources of SO2 emissions are volcanic eruptions and industrial activities. SO2 can affect both populations and aviation in two significant ways:
Health risks.
Engine impact.
The costs associated with maintenance contracts for aviation stakeholders and turbine maintenance for aircraft manufacturers, coupled with safety and health concerns for passengers during long-haul flights, serve as the main motivation for the KAIROS team.
A personal communication from Rolls-Royce has specified that four types of sulfidation can impact aircraft engines (refer also to Brenot et al., OPAS Engage-KTN, SIDs 2020; https://engagektn.com/cf-summaries).
This introduction effectively outlines the problem addressed by the KAIROS project: providing AI forecasts of the transport of SO2 plumes, which can potentially affect aviation, utilizing information related to volcanic SO2 (height and mass loading).
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