Ash spreading measured by IR on satellites
The following is taken from "Teknisk Ukeblad" which is a jounal published by the Norwegian polytechnic society in Oslo.
"Satellite Images
The ashes that spread from the volcanic eruption is powdered stone that comes in and blocks the ventilation of the engine, but the plane's radar can not detect it. At NILU, with the researcher Fred Prata at the helm, has been developed a set of algorithms that convert data from U.S. satellites which could be useful for the aviation industry.
Prata uses publicly available images taken with an infrared camera by NASA satellites, then runs it through his proprietary modeling program. There are calculated the total ash quantity, concentration and size of particles in the discharge.
- Fred has several patents on this, and we have also taken this technology a step further and use it against other commercial applications, including to measure emissions from ships, "he said."
Apparently a special version of the IR camera and its software is being developed for use as a warning device on commercial aircraft. - similar to weather radar.
Finally for those of you who do not believe, there is a rather large amount of data available about single or double engine shutdown incidents at high altitude. Most of this is assumed be due to ice particles, but some may also on ash or mixed ice/ash particles.