Lancaster University
Dr Mike James
Mike has broad interests in experimental volcanology and ground-based remote sensing of process dynamics at active volcanoes. His particular expertise in volcanic plumes focus on ash electrification and aggregation. He will contribute to laboratory and modelling aspects of R4AsH, and lead project coordination.
Dr Steve Lane
Steve is an expert in designing laboratory experiments of volcanic processes, including the mechanisms and consequences of ash aggregation. He leads the laboratory components of R4AsH which will characterise the radar reflectivity of falling ash particles and aggregates.
Dr Jennie Gilbert
Jennie has expertise in the physical and chemical properties of volcanic ash and has been a member of the UK government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies on volcanic ash. She will contribute to the laboratory experimental work in R4AsH.
Professor Keith Beven
Keith brings a wealth of expertise in uncertainty to R4AsH. He devised the Generalised Likelihood Uncertainty Estimation (GLUE) methodology, held a NERC Long Term Grant applying uncertainty estimation to a wide variety of fields and was a CoPI on NERC’s PURE CREDIBLE project on risk in the environment.
Dr Antonio Capponi
Antonio is a PDRA initially focussed on the design, build and operation of a laboratory fall chamber for volcanic ash. In the latter stages of the project he will be working on uncertainty within plume dispersion models.
University of Cambridge
Dr Jack Atkinson
Dr Vishnu Nair
University of Oxford
Dr Don Grainger
Don Grainger heads the Earth Observation Data Group at the University of Oxford. His volcanic interests span laboratory measurements of ash properties through to satellite retrievals. As part of R4Ash he will using imager (MODIS, HIMAWARI, SLSTR) data to characterise the evolution of ash plumes.
Dr Andrew Prata
Andrew Prata will be working on deriving ash cloud properties from a range of satellite imagers (e.g. MODIS, SEVIRI, AHI, SLSTR) with the aim of providing uncertainty-bounded estimates of optical depth, effective radius and cloud-top height at pixel-level spatial resolution. His previous research includes validating dispersion model simulations with satellite retrievals, visualising uncertainty in ash dosage calculations and combining active and passive remote sensing techniques to study the three-dimensional structure of volcanic clouds.
Dr Sujan Khanal
Sujan Khanal worked on deriving ash cloud properties from satellite imagers and using that data to study ash cloud evolution. Previously, he worked with MODIS cloud retrievals and quantifying uncertainties associated with them. Sujan has now moved on from R4AsH.
Dr Adam Povey
University of Reading
Dr Natalie Harvey
Natalie Harvey is a PDRA in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading. She has previously developed a framework for producing probabilistic forecasts of volcanic ash dispersion using NAME, the Met Office Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model. In R4AsH Natalie will be assessing the impact of integrating new satellite observations and ensemble meteorology into the Met Office model used for estimating volcanic ash emissions on ash dispersion forecasts.
University of St Andrews
UK Met Office
Dr Claire Witham
Claire leads the Atmospheric Dispersion and Air Quality science team in the Met Office. Her personal research focuses on improving the representation of volcanic eruptions in dispersion models. As part of R4AsH she will be providing input on using inverse modelling techniques to refine eruption source information.
Dr Helen Webster
Helen is a senior scientist in atmospheric dispersion at the Met Office. Her main focus is on the development of the Met Office models, NAME (a Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model) and InTEM for volcanic ash (an inversion modelling technique for estimating ash emissions). In R4AsH she will be extending InTEM to determine particle size segregated source term estimates and working with Reading University to enable InTEM to make good use of the radar and satellite observations and plume modelling results.