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The Washington Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC), operated 24/7 by NOAA's Satellite Analysis Branch, monitors airspace across the Americas and Caribbean to issue real-time advisories that keep aviation safe from volcanic ash hazards. Its primary products are Volcanic Ash Advisories (VAAs), which detail observed ash positions and T+6-, T+12-, and T+18-hour forecasts, and Volcanic Ash Graphics (VAGs), which visually map these forecasted ash polygons and flight levels for flight planners. Together, these tools provide airline pilots, dispatchers, air traffic controllers and other users with the essential information needed to safely route aircraft around damaging ash clouds.
* Where polygon colors overlap, the resulting color will not precisely match what is presented in the legend. It will generally be a combination of the colors (eg. Red + Yellow = Orange, which would mean OBS and OBS + 6 Hours overlap).
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Products include Volcanic Ash Advisories (VAA) and associated Volcanic Ash Graphic (VAG) - VAA are issued every 6 hours or sooner for ash active volcanoes with VAG when ash is detected.
Imagery from the GOES-16/GOES-19/Himiwari satellites featuring sectors within the Washington VAAC airspace.
The Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) is a hyperspectral instrument which consists of three spectrometers designed to measure the concentration of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere.
In an effort to keep the aviation community informed of volcanic hazards, nine VAAC are tasked with monitoring the movement of volcanic ash within their assigned airspace.
The objectives of the USGS Volcano Hazards Program are to advance the scientific understanding of volcanic processes and to lessen the harmful impacts of volcanic activity.
The ARL Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model is a complete system for computing simple air parcel trajectories to complex dispersion and deposition simulations.
High-resolution, detailed imagery of hazardous weather events as detected in remotely sensed data.
The International Civil Aviation Organization was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world.
The Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Program seeks better understanding of all volcanoes through documenting their eruptions - small as well as large - during the past 10,000 years.
