First Ever Image Of Volcano’s Lightning
Live Science is reporting that “for the first time, scientists have been able to “see” and trace lightning inside a plume of ash spewing from an actively erupting volcano.
When Alaska’s Mount Redoubt volcano began rumbling back to life in January, a team of researchers scrambled to set up a system called a Lightning Mapping Array that would be able to peer through the dust and gas of any eruption that occurred to the lightning storm happening within. Lightning is known to flash in the tumultuous clouds belched out during volcanic eruptions.
The lightning produced when Redoubt finally erupted on March 22 was “prolific,” said physicist Paul Krehbiel of New Mexico Tech. Check out the image.
“The lightning activity was as strong or stronger than we have seen in large Midwestern thunderstorms,” Krehbiel said. “The radio frequency noise was so strong and continuous that people living in the area would not have been able to watch broadcast VHF television stations.”
Lightning mapping arrays are increasingly being used by meteorologists to issue weather warnings, but have only been deployed at volcanoes twice before.
Thousands of individual segments of a single lightning stroke can be mapped with these arrays, and later analyzed to reveal how lightning initiates and spreads through a thunderstorm, or in a volcanic plume.
After setting up the arrays, researchers waited nearly two months for Redoubt’s first eruption, but the wait was worth it. ”
Full story on Live Science
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10 Responses to “First Ever Image Of Volcano’s Lightning”
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Uncle B said on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 5:01
The world abounds with electricity, yet, fools that we are, we close our eyes to the obvious, and burn coal , killing the atmosphere we breath, and tempt fate with fission , one human error from Armageddon, and filthy killing waste we keep in little “safe” piles throughout the land!
john said on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 7:40
NOPE! —————— FAIL
Topics about Volcanos » First Ever Image Of Volcano’s Lightning | World Weather Post said on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 10:02
[...] World Weather Post added an interesting post today on First Ever Image Of Volcanoâ [...]
volcsciguy said on Tuesday, April 21, 2009, 18:20
Not quite a true statement, “for the first time, scientists have been able to “see”…” It may be the first time that meterologists have been able to deploy the new Lightning Mapping Array at a volcano in the US so quickly and near the time of an eruption, but meterologists and geologic scientists have been mapping and measuring atmospheric discharges in volcanic plumes for several decades.
Good article, though. Good job!
gonzalo said on Friday, November 20, 2009, 12:48
WRONG, check out this image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/_juanjo_/2481249798/
this was in chile, about a year ago !!
daniel geberyesuse said on Saturday, December 19, 2009, 4:29
i need worled weather news daily
Laura said on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 21:23
THAT IS AN AWESOME PIC. can i use it. my teacher says i have to ask.
thanks
laura said on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 21:26
hi
can i use this picture of the volcano?
World Weather Post said on Tuesday, April 27, 2010, 23:50
Yes, you can use it. Be my guest!
Kayla Hernandez said on Monday, August 2, 2010, 11:41
the weather these days is hotter than the previous decades, i guess it is the effect of global warming,-’