British Airways Experimenting with Ash-Detecting ZEUS Device

A British Airways 747 has been equipped with a new device capable of detecting trace amounts of ash in the earth's atmosphere, according to BreakingTravelNews.com.

The device, known as ZEUS and named after the Greek God of the skies, was developed in response to the 2010 Icelandic volcanic eruption by scientists at the Met Office and Natural Environment Research Council.

The breakthrough for ZEUS came "after a pilot in a research aircraft noticed that static levels created by low levels of volcanic ash in the atmosphere caused his hair to stand on end."

The scientists' hope is that the device will allow them to conduct research that could potentially help experts develop ash forecasts and alert airlines.

The British Airways 747's first flight was a success, with data having been downloaded en route to Johannesburg. The next step is for that information to be analyzed by researchers at the Met Office.

The plane is scheduled to continue long-haul flights over the course of a year in order to provide researchers with a better understanding of what the electric field in normal atmospheric conditions looks like around the world.

"We were very keen to be involved in this pioneering research which will be of great value to the aviation industry and beyond," said British Airways' captain Dean Plumb. "Aircraft regularly encounter small quantities of ash in flights around the world, perfectly safely, and pilots use expert forecasts to plan their routes to avoid more dense ash clouds."

Plumb added that "ZEUS has the potential to provide a clearer picture of ash distribution and could be used to inform decision making-processes in the event of future volcanic eruptions."

Scientists still have ways to go before they can accomplish the goal they set out with when the project began. But that's not to say that the results so far haven't been encouraging.

Met Office head of natural hazards Ian Lisk notes that the organization is "delighted with progess with this prototype" and that the early findings have been "very promising."