Volcanic Ash Scientific Advisory Group

At the 5th International Workshop on Volcanic Ash, organized by WMO in cooperation with ICAO and held at the kind invitation of Chile in Santiago de Chile from 17 to 21 March 2010, the formation of a Scientific Steering/Advisory Group was proposed in order to create a single, authoritative source of scientific expertise in the field of volcanic ash affecting civil aviation with emphasis both on meteorological (remote sensing and in-situ observations, transport and dispersion modeling) as well as geophysical/volcanological issues such as eruption source parameters, ash characteristics, ash fallout and aggregation. This expertise was to be made available to the ICAO IAVWOPS group as a basis for future development of operational procedures, standards and guidance. This proposal was subsequently adopted by the WMO Executive Council at its 62nd session (June 2010, Geneva) and fully supported by the Secretary General of IUGG.

In June 2015, WMO 17th Congress (Cg-17) and the 67th Session of the Executive Council commended the scientific contributions of VASAG to the advancement of the International Airways Volcano Watch (IAVW). Acknowledging the evolving nature of volcanic ash science and the needs of the air transport industry of enhanced services to mitigate the impact of volcanic ash hazard on aviation operations and following the recommendation by Cg-17, the Council requested the Secretary-General, to continue his support to the VASAG in close coordination with the IUGG in accordance with the working arrangements between the WMO and IUGG and with revised terms of reference.

Tabs

Composition

Andrew TUPPER	Co-chair	Bureau of Meteorology	Australia
Larry G. MASTIN	Co-chair	U. S. Geological Survey Western Region, South West Area Geology Discipline Cascades Volcano Observatory	USA
Hans SCHLAGER	member	DLR Institut für Physik der Atmosphäre	Germany
Sara BARSOTTI	member	Icelandic Met Office	Iceland
Augusto NERI	member	Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia Sezione di Pisa	Italy
Arnau FOLCH	member	Barcelona Supercomputing Center Herat Sciences Division	Spain
Ian LISK	member	WMO CAeM Vice-President	United Kingdom
Claire WITHAM	member	Met Office	United Kingdom
David SCHNEIDER	member	U. S. Geological Survey Alaska Volcano Observatory	USA
Mike PAVOLONIS	member	NOAA/NESDIS	USA
Raul ROMERO	ex-officio	ICAO	ICAO
Greg BROCK	ex-officio	WMO	WMO

Terms of Reference

EC-67 (June 2015)

Annex to paragraph 2.26 of the general summary

REVISED TERMS OF REFERENCE OF THE WMO/IUGG VOLCANIC ASH SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY GROUP

Introduction:

The Volcanic Ash Science Advisory Group (VASAG) is established in accordance with the Working Arrangements between the WMO and the IUGG (WMO-No.60, V.1 – V.2), paragraph 4, as a “joint committee … to deal with matters of common interest”.

The objective of the group is to provide scientific advice combining expertise in the field of atmospheric sciences and volcanology, to support informed decisions by ICAO and other aviation stakeholders concerned with the volcanic ash hazard to aviation.

Composition:

The composition of VASAG shall comprise of a core group of approximately ten scientists and technical experts from the relevant geophysical and meteorological disciplines with two co-chairpersons designated through consultation between the WMO and IUGG Secretariats with each Organization nominating one co-chairperson.

Terms of reference:

In the context of international aviation, VASAG shall:

Address requests from ICAO and other relevant stakeholders for specific scientific advice or assistance relating to the fields of volcano monitoring, volcanic ash and other volcanic contaminants,
Use appropriate networks, contacts, meetings and other opportunities, to gather cross-discipline and cross-industry scientific advice from the international community,
Promote research and inform community on recent scientific achievements related to the volcanic ash aviation hazard,
Provide support to the organization of the regular WMO International Scientific Workshop on Volcanic Ash.

Working arrangements:

The VASAG will be supported by the WMO Secretariat including limited funding, within the available WMO budget for the AEM programme, for delivering its priority activities.

Meetings

should be conducted in consideration with ICAO requirements, associated delivery deadlines, available funding, and opportunities to meet in conjunction with other relevant events to VASAG members. Requests by non-core experts to attend VASAG meetings as observers will be decided upon by the co-chairpersons in consultation with the two Secretariats.

Reporting

The VASAG shall provide scientific reports to support the work of relevant WMO and ICAO groups concerned with the volcanic ash hazard to aviation. Progress reports on activities should be provided to the WMO and IUGG executive bodies.

Dissemination

The VASAG will publicize the outcomes of its work through appropriate channels to ensure outreach to the research and operational communities. A VASAG web page on the WMO website will be used as a main reference point. Appropriate links to other relevant information sources, including scientific and research institutions of core members will also be provided.

Work Programme

As per the reports of VASAG meetings - see here

VASAG INPUT TO ICAO’s 2010-2012 INTERNATIONAL VOLCANIC ASH TASK FORCE
(a compendium of the IVATF working papers and information papers presented by VASAG)