Monitoring Volcanoes

12 Key excerpts on "Monitoring Volcanoes"

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  eBook - ePub

  Living with Earth

  An Introduction to Environmental Geology

  • Travis Hudson(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  If they know enough about the geologic history and behavior of a volcano, scientists may be able to make long-range forecasts. These are not specific predictions of where and when the volcano will erupt. Instead, forecasts state the probability that an eruption of a certain size will occur within a certain time period. For example, a forecast might state that an eruption large enough to devastate everything within 50 kilometers (31 mi) could occur within the following 10 to 20 years.

  Monitoring volcanic activity

  To respond to an eruption, you obviously have to know whether or not one may be starting. Another role that scientists play is Monitoring Volcanoes for signs of unrest, such as increased earthquake activity or an upturn in gas emissions from the vent (Figure 6-40 ). In the United States, the USGS operates observatories to monitor activity in Hawaii, the Cascade Range, Alaska, Long Valley (California), and Yellowstone (Wyoming). If there are signs of unrest, scientists at the observatories can issue alerts. Numerous other countries with active volcanoes, such as Japan, Colombia, Mexico, and Indonesia, also maintain volcano observatories. At these often-remote outposts, scientists use seismometers (see Chapter 5 ) and other instruments to monitor changes in the volcano’s level of activity.

  FIGURE 6-40

  Monitoring Volcanic Activity Is an Important but Sometimes Dangerous Job

  Volcanologists and other scientists frequently monitor volcanoes to determine when an eruption may be imminent. They may visit active volcanoes to gather data collected by sensors, take samples of magma or volcanic gases, and make close-up observations of ongoing activity. These investigations sometimes put them in harm’s way, and have cost a few scientists their lives.

  In remote areas where no staffed observatory exists, instruments can be set up to electronically send information back to a centralized location. In the Aleutian Islands and Cook Inlet region of Alaska, for example, a number of remote volcanoes are “wired” with seismometers that transmit data back to the Alaska Volcano Observatory in Anchorage via cell phone. Satellites that can detect concentrations of heat or ash plumes are increasingly used to monitor remote or inaccessible volcanoes.

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  Introduction to Volcanic Seismology

  • Vyacheslav M Zobin(Author)
  • 2011(Publication Date)
  • Elsevier

    (Publisher)

  18. Seismic Monitoring of Volcanic Activity and Forecasting of Volcanic Eruptions

  This chapter presents the methodology of seismic monitoring of the volcanic activity. The methods of eruption forecasting based on the statistical variations of volcano-tectonic earthquakes are described. The chronicle of forecasting of some volcanic eruptions (New Tolbachik volcanoes, July 1975; Mount Pinatubo, June 1991; Volcán de Colima, November 1998; Usu, March 2000; and Mount St. Helens, October 2004) illustrates the practical activity of volcanologists during volcanic crisis.

  Keywords Volcanic eruption, seismic monitoring, forecasting of eruptions

  Chapter 5 , Chapter 6 , Chapter 7 , Chapter 8 , Chapter 9 and Chapter 10 of this book described and discussed the properties of volcano-tectonic earthquakes, and demonstrated the temporal and spatial regularities in the earthquake sequence development before volcanic eruptions. It allows forecasting of volcanic eruptions using seismic data. This chapter discusses the special aspects of seismic monitoring of volcanoes and the methodology of forecasting of volcanic eruptions.

  18.1. Methodology of Seismic Monitoring of Volcanic Activity

  Seismic monitoring of volcanic activity serves to forecast an eruption and to issue an alert of a volcanic hazard to the public (Shimozuru, 1971 ; McNutt, 1996 and McNutt, 2000b ; McNutt et al., 2000 ). Therefore, the system of monitoring must be capable of precisely locating seismic events in the region of a volcano and able to quickly process the obtained information. To resolve this problem, a seismic network has to consist of a minimum of three to five seismic stations, with a spacing of a few kilometers and they need to be installed within 1–10km from the active crater. Digital and analog seismic records are usually telemetered to a center of monitoring for processing.

  18.1.1. Seismic Networks Around Volcanoes

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  Natural Hazards

  Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Landslides

  • Ramesh Singh, Darius Bartlett, Ramesh Singh, Darius Bartlett(Authors)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  Although significant successes have been achieved in understanding volcanoes, many crucial aspects of volcanic activity and processes still remain not fully understood. Systematic observations and continuous monitoring of volcanic activity might help in improving our knowledge of volcanic processes, in better identifying possible signs of volcanic unrest and in better managing and assessing the risk when an eruptive event is in progress. However, many active volcanoes around the world are still inadequately or poorly monitored or not monitored at all. A recent study carried out on 439 active volcanoes in 16 developing countries reveals that more than 60% have rudimentary or no monitoring, including several volcanoes identified as posing a high risk to large populations (Tilling et al. 1990). Another recent report reveals that globally, only about 50% of volcanoes are currently monitored by dedicated ground-based systems (ESA-EUMETSAT 2010).

  For decades, satellite remote sensing has played a significant role in this context, offering synoptic coverage, timely and frequent sampling on a large scale, multispectral capabilities and significant cost savings compared with other observing systems and sources of information. Moreover, satellite-based observations represent, sometimes, the unique tool capable of getting systematic and accurate information about volcanic phenomena that, as for volcanic emissions in the atmosphere (ash clouds), may rapidly disperse from hundreds to thousands of kilometres from the source. One recent example is the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull (Iceland) eruption that had a large-scale impact (i.e. affecting several European Union [EU] countries) on social and economic human activities and confirmed that the global perspective offered by satellite systems is crucial (ESA-EUMETSAT 2010).

  Satellite remote sensing, besides providing an actual and enhanced monitoring capability, may contribute to better understanding of volcanic processes, providing a huge amount of data that can be routinely used by experts and volcanic observatories. EO satellites, since the 1980s and 1990s, have contributed to achieve significant advances in volcanology, helping the scientific community address major volcanological questions and challenges, and allowed for a periodic or systematic monitoring of volcanism at a global scale. Here, the present capabilities and the main achievements of satellite remote sensing for active volcanoes are reviewed, from a scientific and an operational point of view. The most employed space-based technologies will be mentioned, with the aim of providing a first-level overview of the current wide usage of satellite observations to provide relevant (i.e. qualitative and sometimes quantitative) volcanological information at a global scale.

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  Monitoring Active Volcanoes

  Strategies, Procedures and Techniques

  • Bill McGuire, Christopher R. J. Kilburn, John Murray, Bill McGuire, Christopher R. J. Kilburn, John Murray(Authors)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  14 The role of monitoring in forecasting volcanic events

  R. I. Tilling He who does not know how to look back cannot reach where he is going. Tagalog proverb (see Newhall & Dzurisin 1988)

  DOI: 10.4324/9781003327080-14

  14.1 Introduction and historical perspective

  By decree of Ferdinand II, monarch of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, the construction of the Osservatorio Vesuviano was begun in 1841. With construction completed in 1847, this facility on the flank of Vesuvius Volcano became the world’s first volcano observatory, marking the beginning of the scientific observations of active volcanoes. Within a decade of the its founding, earthquakes clearly associated with eruptive activity were being recorded instrumentally by Prof. Luigi Palmieri, who directed the observatory from 1855 to 1896. However, another half century was to pass before other volcano observatories were established, in 1911 in Japan by F. Omori at Asama Volcano, and in 1912 in Hawaii by Thomas A. Jaggar, Jr, at Kilauea Volcano. The recognition of the need to study volcanoes on a regular basis was prompted in large measure by the three deadly volcanic disasters in 1902 in the Central America–Caribbean region (Soufrière, St Vincent; Mont Pelée, Martinique; and Santa María, Guatemala), which together caused more than 36000 deaths (Tilling 1989b ).

  The regular observation and measurement of volcanoes (i.e. volcano monitoring), while clearly rooted in the movement to establish volcano observatories, contributed substantially to the overall development of volcanology into the multidisciplinary science that it is today. Modern volcanology is based on two fundamental premises: (1) knowledge of the past and

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  Volcanic Hazards, Risks and Disasters

  • Paolo Papale(Author)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Elsevier

    (Publisher)

  These offices pursue hazard mitigation work in collaboration with local governments, while also taking charge of the campaign observation teams (Yamasato et al., 2013). 18.3.2. Geodetic Monitoring GSI continuously monitors the Earth's crustal movement with the accuracy of millimeter analyzing data from GEONET (a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)-based continuous monitoring system), GPS-based control points, and a remote GNSS-based volcano deformation monitoring system (REGMOS). With this system, GSI analyzes the process of ground buildup to an eruption and movements of magma with a certain degree of temporal and spatial accuracy (Imakiire, 2013). The GNSS network of JMA is also utilized to analyze the integrated deformation. Izu-Oshima volcano is continuously monitored by automatic geodetic measuring system and ground deformation measurements (leveling, GNSS, and gravity) are periodically carried out by GSI in other 15 key volcanoes. GSI has also monitored geomagnetically on Fuji Volcano since December 2001. When volcanic activity is elevated, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) interferometric analyses with satellites or aircraft are performed to detect surface deformation due to, for example, contraction of volcanic edifice or lava accumulation within the crater. 18.3.3. Monitoring of Marine and Submarine Volcanoes Monitoring of submarine volcanoes is taken charge by JCG; that is, volcanoes in the Southern and Ryukyu areas are periodically monitored aerially or partly observed by ships (Figure 18.2 ; Ito, 2013). The aerial monitoring includes visual observation (discolored water) and aeromagnetic and temperature measurements. JCG also collects basic data on volcanic islands and submarine volcanoes, including topography, geomagnetic and gravitational anomalies

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  Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tsunamis: A Complete Introduction: Teach Yourself

  • David Rothery(Author)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Teach Yourself

    (Publisher)

  7 Monitoring Volcanoes In this chapter you will learn:

  •   about the variety of techniques that are used to keep track of volcanic activity, both before and during eruptions.

  So far I have covered where and why volcanoes occur, how they erupt, and the possible consequences of eruptions. This chapter describes some of the techniques used by volcanologists to study volcanoes. In particular it considers ways to monitor events that may presage an eruption and to gather information about an ongoing eruption. There is an important difference between large volcanic eruptions and major tectonic earthquakes that places very great responsibilities upon the staff of volcano observatories. As you will see in Chapter 9 , major tectonic earthquakes tend to strike without warning and to be followed by a series of smaller ‘aftershocks’. In contrast, large explosive volcanic eruptions are often preceded by several smaller eruptions, and eruptions are heralded by various warning signs that can be read if the correct instrumentation is deployed.

  Remember this: Warning signs

  Eruptions, unlike most tectonic earthquakes, are usually preceded by warning signs that can be detected by appropriate instruments. Volcano observatories

  It is usually the job of state-funded volcano observatories to monitor volcanic activity, and to pass appropriate warnings to the authorities (how best to do this is an issue covered in the next chapter). Most volcano observatories are branches of larger national organizations. For example in the USA, volcano observatories are units of the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Here the Cascades Volcano Observatory (based in Vancouver, Washington) has responsibility for all the active volcanoes on the west side of the continent, apart from Alaska, which is looked after by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (based in Anchorage), and Long Valley and Yellowstone, which have their own specialist observatories. In Hawaii the job is done by the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (based on Kilauea). Similarly the Philippines has PHIVOLCS (Philippines Institute for Volcanology and Seismology), which maintains permanent staff at several of the country’s more active volcanoes, but has to respond to changing circumstances such as the reactivation of Pinatubo in 1991. The volcanological division of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) has monitoring equipment on nearly 50 active volcanoes, many of which also have on-site, university-run, observatories.

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  Forecasting and Planning for Volcanic Hazards, Risks, and Disasters

  • Paolo Papale(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Elsevier

    (Publisher)

  Geochemical monitoring has emerged as one of the principal methods to observe volcanoes and many observatories around the world have installed DOAS networks or multi-GAS sensors generating con-tinuous and real-time data. As the quantity of data produced at volcanoes globally increases however, it may be argued that the sophistication of the models we have at our disposal to understand them is more limited. Ultimately, the linkages between the monitor-ing streams must be cast in terms of physical and chemical processes and used to develop integrated models within which these data may be interpreted. Exam-ples of these linkages include the presence of deep-seated exsolved volatile phases in magma reservoirs, which may be rich in CO 2 and SO 2 and linked 140 Forecasting and planning for volcanic hazards, risks, and disasters to the shallow system to drive persistent degassing may also impose a much greater compressibility of the magma ( Huppert and Woods, 2002 ). This height-ened compressibility fundamentally changes the way in which the volume of reservoirs changes in response to injections of fresh magma from depth, and to batches of magma being removed by eruption, which is manifest at the sur-face as ground displacements, measured by GPS, tiltmeters, and satellite-based InSAR. Models which combine the thermodynamical evolution of the exsolved volatile phase with physical processes of recharge, eruption, and crystallization ( Anderson and Segall, 2011 ; Degruyter and Huber, 2014 ; McCormick Kilbride et al., 2016 ) are required in order to utilize the full potential of the disparate monitoring data streams. Sensors are becoming ever-smaller, cheaper, and precise. Disposable sen-sors that are deployed as a cloud until they cease working or are destroyed, may be on the horizon, rather than costly installations which require servicing and replacement.

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  Remote Sensing of Water Resources, Disasters, and Urban Studies

  • Ph.D., Prasad S. Thenkabail(Authors)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  The relative importance of a remote sensing in providing information about active volcanoes varies depending on which volcano is the subject. Very well monitored volcanoes (such as Kilauea volcano in Hawaii) do not rely on satellite remote sensing to provide information about volcanic processes, given the comprehensive in situ monitoring systems that exist (including seismometers, permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) arrays, tilt meters, ground-based gas-sensing spectrometers, thermal cameras, infrasound arrays). At this class of volcano, satellite remote sensing may provide only supplemental data. Alternatively, satellite remote sensing may be the only source of information regarding eruptions at poorly monitored volcanoes, such as the large number in the remote, and unpopulated, Aleutian island chain. Between these end members, remote sensing plays a greater or lesser role in providing information about the volcanic processes described in the previous section. 20.4 Remote Sensing of Volcano Deformation Volcanoes inflate as magma is intruded from beneath and deflate as magma is erupted onto the surface or redistributed within the edifice. In situ measurements of ground deformation have been shown to reliably document these movements of magma, at many volcanoes around the world (Figure 20.2). Measurements of volcano deformation were traditionally made using conventional field surveying techniques including precise leveling and trilateration (e.g., Murray et al., 1995). Tilt measurements (using the wet tilt technique, Figure 20.2, or dry tilt) have also been a mainstay of deformation monitoring at volcanoes around the world. In recent years, GPS has somewhat supplanted these methods. Although able to resolve very subtle changes in volcano topography, these methods suffer from the fact that they provide a very incomplete spatial sample.

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  Hazards and Monitoring of Volcanic Activity 3

  Gravimetric, Electric and Magnetic Fluids, Products and Methods

  • Jean-François Lénat(Author)
  • 2022(Publication Date)
  • Wiley-ISTE

    (Publisher)

  Gravity Monitoring of Volcanoes 219 Figure 4.1. Field measurement with a relative gravimeter. The altitude at the time of the measurement is determined by GPS (whose antenna is visible). Photo: Jean-François Lénat Figure 4.2. A portable A10 absolute gravity meter measuring on a geodetic benchmark (credit: Rob Carruth, USGS Arizona Water Science Center. Public domain) 220 Hazards and Monitoring of Volcanic Activity 3 Network measurements are usually organized in loops in which at least one base station is regularly returned to. This procedure is very efficient to correct instrumental drifts or other variations like atmospheric pressure. Other strategies must be implemented in the case of fixed stations. However, current technological advances (e.g. Newton-G project) will probably bring a revolution in gravity measurement, in particular around MEMS (micro- electro-mechanical systems) technologies. 4.3. Measurement procedures Most of the gravity monitoring measurements concern ground measurements on benchmarks. As we are trying to detect low amplitude signals, special precautions are taken to ensure the best possible accuracy of measurements. This is called microgravity monitoring. We will see that in some cases where very large mass transfers (rock or liquid) are involved, less precise techniques can be implemented using ground or airborne measurements. 4.3.1. Ground-level gravimetry Microgravity monitoring of a volcano can be performed either by periodic reiteration of an array or continuously with one or more permanent gravimeters. The two approaches can also be combined. Typically, a periodic microgravity monitoring network on a volcano extends over an area of the order of 10 km, with reference stations that may be further away. Figure 4.3 shows the network of Etna. One of the particularities of this one is that the majority of the stations are measured using relative gravimeters and the other with absolute gravimeters.

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  Updates in Volcanology

  From Volcano Modelling to Volcano Geology

  • Karoly Nemeth(Author)
  • 2016(Publication Date)
  • IntechOpen

    (Publisher)

  With this in mind, the final goal is a better understanding of the mechanisms and processes of volcanic unrest or reawakening of a volcano and forecasting the threat of consequent activity and impacts. Keywords: temporal gravity changes, deformation, surface displacements, inversion, interpretation, volcanic unrest 1. Introduction Active and dormant volcanoes cover the face of the earth more plentifully than we usually percept. Their proximity is often richly inhabited by residents or visited by tourists, which gives rise to a tight link between the prosperity, wealth and health, and even the fate of those people and a volcano. As a natural consequence, the knowledge about the possible volcanic threat is of high demand. Our knowledge, however, of volcanic processes and behavior is far from © 2016 The Author(s). Licensee InTech. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. complete or ideal. There is a lot of room for earth science endeavors and research efforts to contribute to this knowledge. Here, we take a look at how much can a specific earth science discipline—gravimetry—contribute to this topic. Gravimetry is a discipline overlapping the fields of geophysics, geodesy, and geodynamics that deals with the geometry, properties, and changes of the earth gravity field by means of its observation, analysis, and interpretation. When considering volcanic hazards, the knowledge of the following elements is essential: the geological past of a volcano, the geological structure of a volcano and its tectonic setting, and the subsurface processes taking place inside a restless or awakening volcano or deep under‐ neath it within the crust and upper mantle. None of these three elements can be observed directly.

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  TERRA- 1: Understanding The Terrestrial Environment

  The Role of Earth Observations from Space

  • Paul Mather(Author)
  • 2003(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  Few, if any, volcanoes erupt without warning. Nevertheless, the signals of impending eruption are often subtle or ambiguous, and eruption prediction, which is essentially based on empiricism and pattern recognition, is rarely attempted. While the most rigorous investigations tend to be conducted at frequently erupting volcanoes, such as Mount Etna and Kilauea, a large proportion of the most devastating eruptions has taken place at volcanoes that had been quiescent for centuries or millenia (e.g. Dvorak et al, 1990). In 1956, 3000 people in Papua New Guinea were killed by an eruption of Mt Lamington, which was not even known to be a volcano (Taylor, 1983). With the UN-endorsed International Decade of Natural Disaster Reduction under way, remote sensing satellites, in consort with 37 38 P. Francis and C. Oppenheimer advances in geophysical and geochemical surveillance, are contributing increasingly towards both the operational needs of volcano monitoring and emergency response, and to a better understanding of the physical processes underlying volcanic behaviour. Current applications of remote sensing techniques to volcanic studies Development of modern satellite remote sensing techniques has opened up several entirely new fields of volcanic research and volcano monitoring. While much has been accomplished, existing satellite sensor systems were designed for quite different purposes, notably in the fields of agriculture and meteorology, and their volcanological results are therefore merely inciden-tal. In future decades, sensor systems designed with specific volcanic applications in mind will offer new potential for volcano monitoring. The present period could be characterized as an inter-regnum: although the potential of present and future satellite systems is understood, the volume of data available is limited and costly. By the end of this decade, the situation may be much improved.

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  Remote Sensing of Natural Hazards

  • Jay Gao(Author)
  • 2023(Publication Date)
  • CRC Press

    (Publisher)

  Table 1.6 ), inadequate to capture fast-evolving volcano eruptions. Images of a finer temporal resolution are available from meteorological satellites, but their spatial resolution on the order of 100s m or coarser allows identification of only extensive volcano plumes. Hourly images have a spatial resolution even coarser, so detailed tracking of all active volcanoes at a fine time interval (e.g., hourly) from space is still not feasible at present.

  An erupting volcano raises the local geothermal heat flux during volcanism. Such strong thermal activities, naturally, are best studied from thermal images. Just like the identification of wildfires, active volcanoes are identified based on their thermal anomalies. The spatiotemporal variation of the heat flux can be detected and quantified from space-borne images (Wright and Flynn, 2004 ). Daytime imagery is subject to the influence of solar radiation that is strongly reflected by some ground features such as snow and bare rock, causing them to have a spectral signature resembling that of an active volcano. Thus, night-time SWIR images of a medium resolution such as Landsat OLI are preferable. They enable the detection and monitoring of thermal anomalies associated with active volcanoes, but not their precise location and extent due to the scanty details exhibited on nighttime images (Bhattacharya et al., 1993 ). Nevertheless, thermal anomalies and the associated radiant fluxes of active volcanoes are more accurately detected from nighttime images than their daytime counterparts. In addition, ASTER imagery with a temporal resolution of 16 days also serves as a valuable data source for updating significant (>10 m) topographic measurements at active volcanoes via time-series DEMs (Stevens et al., 2004 ). Coarse-resolution MODIS (250 m) and GOES data may prove futile in studying volcano eruption, but they can still be useful in tracing volcanic ash plumes and their evolution owing to their hourly and half-hourly temporal resolution. So it is the medium-resolution Earth resources satellite images (Table 1.6

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