Photograph of the Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud. Ohio State University researchers have discovered that a new class of ceramic coatings could offer jet engines special protection against volcanic ash damage in the future. Photograph by Peter Greenfield, courtesy of Ohio State University.

Ohio State University researchers have discovered that a new class of ceramic coatings could offer jet engines special protection against volcanic ash damage in the future.Scanning electron microscope images (left) and corresponding maps of silicate ash penetration (right) for two materials used in the study. The cross-sections show what happened when the typical coating (top) and the gadolinium zirconate coating (bottom) interacted with Eyjafjallajökull ash at high temperature. Image by Julie Drexler, Andrew Gledhill, and Nitin Padture, courtesy of Ohio State University.