The aim of the present work is to utilize a new functionality within the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF–Chem) that allows simulating emission, transport, and settling of pollutants released during the Etna 2015 volcanic activities. This study constitutes the first systematic application of the WRF–Chem online-based approach to a specific Etna volcanic eruption, with possible effects involving the whole Mediterranean area. In this context, the attention has been focused on the eruption event, recorded from 3–7 December 2015, which led to the closure of the nearby Catania International Airport. Quantitative meteorological forecasts, analyses of Etna volcanic ash transport, and estimates of the ash ground deposition have been performed. In order to test the performance of the proposed approach, the model outputs have been compared with data provided by satellite sensors and Doppler radars. As a result, it emerges that, as far as the selected eruption event is concerned, the WRF–Chem model reasonably reproduces the distribution of SO₂ and of volcanic ash. In addition, this modeling system may provide valuable support both to airport management and to local stakeholders including public administrations.

Numerical weather predictions (NWP) play a fundamental role in air quality management. The transport and deposition of all the pollutants (natural and/or anthropogenic) present in the atmosphere are strongly influenced by meteorological conditions such as, for example, precipitation and winds. Furthermore, the presence of particulate matter in the atmosphere favors the physical processes of nucleation of the hydrometeors, thus increasing the risk of even extreme weather events. In this framework of reference, the present work aimed to improve the quality of weather forecasts related to extreme events through the optimization of the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model. For this purpose, the simulation results obtained using the WRF model, where physical parametrizations of the cumulus scheme can be optimized, are reported. As a case study, we considered the extreme meteorological event recorded on 25 November 2016, which affected the whole territory of Sicily and, in particular, the area of Sciacca (Agrigento). In order, to evaluate the performance of the proposed approach, we compared the WRF model outputs with data obtained by a network of radar and weather stations. The comparison was performed through statistical methods on the basis of a “contingency table”, which allowed for ascertaining the best suited physical parametrizations able to reproduce this event.

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate the effects of variable eruption source parameters on volcanic plume transport in the Mediterranean basin after the paroxysm of Mount Etna on 23 November 2013. This paroxysm was characterized by a north-east transport of ash and gas, caused by a low-pressure system in northern Italy. It is evaluated here in a joint approach considering the WRF-Chem model configured with eruption source parameters (ESPs) obtained elaborating the raw data from the VOLDORAD-2B (V2B) Doppler radar system. This allows the inclusion of the transient and fluctuating nature of the volcanic emissions to accurately model the atmospheric dispersion of ash and gas. Two model configurations were considered: the first with the climax values for the ESP and the second with the time-varying ESP according to the time profiles of the mass eruption rate recorded by the V2B radar. It is demonstrated that the second configuration produces a considerably better comparison with satellite retrievals from different sensors platforms (Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite, Meteosat Second-Generation Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager, and Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite). In the context of volcanic ash transport dispersion modeling, our results indicate the need for (i) the use of time-varying ESP, and (ii) a joint approach between an online coupled chemical transport model like WRF-Chem and direct near-source measurements, such as those carried out by the V2B Doppler radar system.

Volcanic emissions (ash, gas, aerosols) dispersed in the atmosphere during explosive eruptions generate hazards affecting aviation, human health, air quality, and the environment. We document for the first time the contamination of airspace by very fine volcanic ash due to sequences of transient ash plumes from Mount Etna. The atmospheric dispersal of sub-10 μm (PM10) ash is modelled using the WRF-Chem model, coupled online with meteorology and aerosols and offline with mass eruption rates (MERs) derived from near-vent Doppler radar measurements and inferred plume altitudes. We analyze two sequences of paroxysms with widely varied volcanological conditions and contrasted meteorological synoptic patterns in October–December 2013 and on 3–5 December 2015. We analyze the PM10 ash dispersal simulation maps in terms of time-averaged columnar ash density, concentration at specified flight levels averaged over the entire sequence interval, and daily average concentration during selected paroxysm days at these flight levels. The very fine ash from such eruption sequences is shown to easily contaminate the airspace around the volcano within a radius of about 1000 km in a matter of a few days. Synoptic patterns with relatively weak tropospheric currents lead to the accumulation of PM10 ash at a regional scale all around Etna. In this context, closely interspersed paroxysms tend to accumulate very fine ash more diffusively at a lower troposphere and in stretched ash clouds higher up in the troposphere. Low-pressure, high-winds weather systems tend to stretch ash clouds into ~100 km wide clouds, forming large-scale vortices 800–1600 km in diameter. Daily average PM10 ash concentrations commonly exceed the aviation hazard threshold, up to 1000 km downwind from the volcano and up to the upper troposphere for intense paroxysms. Vertical distributions show ash cloud thicknesses in the range 0.7–3 km, and PM10 sometimes stagnates at ground level, which represent a potential health hazard.

One of the most important challenges in atmospheric science and, in particular, in numerical weather predictions (NWP), is to forecast extreme weather events. These events affect very localized areas in space, recording high pluviometric accumulations in short time intervals. In this context, with the present study, we aim to analyze the extreme meteorological event that occurred in the northwestern and eastern parts of Sicily on 15 July 2020, by using the weather research and forecasting (WRF) model. In particular, during the afternoon, several storms affected those areas, causing intense precipitation, with maximum rainfall concentrated on the city of Palermo and in the Etna area. The rainfall at the end of the event reached 134 mm in Palermo and 49 mm in Catania, recorded by the Sicilian network meteorological stations. Because the event at Palermo was strongly localized, the analyses have been carried out by employing different sets of numerical simulations, by means of the WRF model, with horizontal spatial grid resolutions of 9, 3, and 1 km. Furthermore, the output of the performed simulation has been used to assess the thermodynamic profile and atmospheric instability indices. It allowed us to check the adopted parameters against those usually implemented in the flash flood scenario. By using the finest grid resolutions (3 and 1 km), the WRF model was able to provide more accurate predictions of the rainfall accumulation, even if they were strongly localized. Conversely, the implementation of less-refined spatial domain (9 km) did not allow us to obtain predictive estimates of precipitation.