Image of the prototype interface showing ECHO areas in Europe at a given point in time (the areas where the passage of aircraft has the greatest climate impact by contributing to global warming).
Image of the prototype interface showing ECHO areas in Europe at a given point in time (the areas where the passage of aircraft has the greatest climate impact by contributing to global warming). The ALARM research team, a European scientific project coordinated by Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M), has developed a new prototype early warning system to monitor natural phenomena that threaten the safety and efficiency of aviation. This system, currently capable of predicting the dispersion of volcanic ash or the progress of certain thunderstorms, also identifies the areas where the passage of aircraft has the greatest impact on climate change. By combining satellite data with weather forecasts, the researchers have managed to improve the spatial and temporal resolution of information on a range of natural phenomena that can jeopardise the safety of aircraft, such as volcanic eruptions, forest fires, sandstorms or electric thunderstorms, for example. Should certain aerosols (smoke, dust, etc.) enter an aircraft engine, they can cause serious damage, both through the erosion and corrosion, as well as through possible obstructions. Volcanic ash and gases produced by volcanic eruptions, such as sulphur dioxide, also pose certain risks, as they can cause abrasions on windscreens, corrosion in engines and various types of damage to aircraft systems and instruments. "By applying artificial intelligence, we can predict short-term changes to the amount of sulphur dioxide present in the atmosphere and the dynamics of thunderstorms around airports," says Manuel Soler, from UC3M's Department of Aerospace Engineering, who is heading up the project.
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