Challenge
Volcanic ash constitutes a weather phenomenon which is rare, yet particularly dangerous for aviation. Modern civil and military aviation, therefore, need precise information in order to plan in advance and enable the mitigation of hazardous effects. Similarly, dust can become a risk for aviation, such as when massed amounts of Sahara dust are transported to Europe in particular weather conditions.
Optimized route planning esp. for unmanned aircraft (such as NATO-AGS, HAPS), for sensitive cargo and refuelling as well an improved recognized air picture can be enabled by satellite based ash and dust detection and nowcasting. In addition this weather hazard data can be integrated with other aviation weather data based on spatio-temporal data cubes - see the integrated aviation safety demo.
Dust over Europe (source: DWD)
Volcanic ash over Europe (source: DWD)
