An international team led by University College London (UCL, UK), which saw the participation of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) with the Volcanology research group of the DiSTeM Department of the University of Palermo, has developed and used a new technology based on the use of drones for the measurement of volcanic gases emitted by active volcanoes, thus demonstrating that even in inaccessible and dangerous volcanoes such as Manam (in Papua New Guinea), drones represent the only way to carry out important measures to characterize the state of activity in safe conditions. The research findings were published in the AAAS journal Science Advances (American Association for the Advancement of Science).
Today, technology offers scientists the means to conduct research that was previously only a dream. What was seemingly out of reach over the years is now achievable, as demonstrated in the new international Aerial-based Observations of Volcanic Emissions (ABOVE) project.
This project used innovative technologies, i.e. drones (Unmanned Aerial System - UAS) with miniaturized sampling equipment on board, to collect measurements of volcanic gases at the Manam and Rabaul volcanoes in Papua New Guinea. These are strong gas emitters, but little is known about them because the plumes are difficult to access using land-based techniques, especially in the event of an eruption.
ABOVE is changing the way scientists sample volcanic gas emissions through the study conducted as part of the Deep Carbon Observatory, a global community of scientists engaged in a decade-long quest for a better understanding of the Earth's natural carbon cycle.
Leveraging recent advances in drone technology, UAS are able to take aerial measurements of volcanic gases directly from plumes. This project transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries, bringing together scientists, engineers and pilots to study some of the world's most inaccessible but highly degassing volcanoes.
In May 2019, an international team of scientists undertook an ambitious campaign of measurements at the two volcanoes in Papua New Guinea, both among the most prodigious sulfur dioxide emitters on Earth and yet lacking any measurement of the amount of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.
The team includes scientists from the UK, Italy, the US, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, Germany and Costa Rica. The project brings together several groups working on drone measurements of volcanic gases around the world.
The groups have deployed various types of drones (fixed-wing, rotary-wing and combined systems) equipped with gas sensors, spectrometers and sampling devices to take measurements near emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases. The different methods were compared to verify the areas of optimal use.
The Italian team made available the geochemical instrumentation developed in its laboratories, for installation on board drones developed by a team from the University of Bristol, both fixed-wing, more suitable for long-distance flights and for making composition measurements by traversing the plume gases, than by rotary wing, more versatile for gas sampling at fixed points. The systems integration was carried out in close collaboration between the two teams. Already in the preliminary stages of the project, a rotary wing drone complete with geochemical sensors and other portable instrumentation was left at the disposal of the Papua New Guinea volcanological observatory, the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory.
Using new gas sensors and miniaturized spectrometers, and designing innovative sampling devices that can be activated automatically, the researchers have been able to fly drones up to 2 km high and 6 km away and to reach inaccessible areas where to perform measurements.
In fact, the campaign on the Manam volcano was particularly demanding, which has a diameter of 10 km and an elevation of 1800 m above sea level, with most of the summit areas totally inaccessible. It is located on an island 13 km off the northeastern coast of Papua New Guinea.
This volcano was known from satellite measurements to be one of the largest emitters of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the world, but before this project nothing was known about its production of CO2, much more difficult to measure from afar due to the high concentrations in the background atmosphere.
Finally, the ratio of abundance between these CO2 and SO2 species turns out to be fundamental for determining the probability of the occurrence of an eruption, because it is correlated with the depth in which the magma resides, and both species were detected during the excavation campaigns. measure.
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Drones for the study of inaccessible volcanic emissions
An international team led by University College London (UCL, UK), which saw the participation of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) with the Volcanology research group of the DiSTeM Department of the University of Palermo, developed and used a new technology based on the use of drones to measure the volcanic gases emitted by active volcanoes, thus demonstrating that even in inaccessible, active and dangerous volcanoes such as Manam (in Papua New Guinea), drones are the only way to implement important measures to characterize the state of activity in safe conditions. The research results were published in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) journal, Science Advances.
Today, technology offers scientists the means to conduct research that was previously only a dream. What was apparently out of reach over the years is now within reach, as demonstrated in a new international project titled Aerial-Based Observations of Volcanic Emissions (ABOVE).
This project used innovative technologies, ie drones (Unmanned Aerial System - UAS) with miniaturized gas sampling equipment to collect volcanic gas measurements at the volcanoes of Manam and Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. These volcanoes are strong emitters of gas, but little is known about them because their plumes are difficult to access using terrestrial techniques, especially in the event of eruptions.
ABOVE is changing the way scientists sample volcanic gas emissions through research conducted by the Deep Carbon Observatory, a global community of scientists engaged in decades of research aimed at a better understanding of Earth's natural carbon cycle.
Taking advantage of recent advances in drone technology, the UAS are able to acquire aerial measurements of volcanic gases directly from plumes. This project transcends traditional disciplinary boundaries, bringing together scientists, engineers and pilots to study some of the most inaccessible but heavily degassing volcanoes in the world.
In May 2019, an international team of scientists embarked on an ambitious campaign of measurements at the two volcanoes - in Papua New Guinea - both of the most prodigious sulfur dioxide emitters on Earth, yet lacking any measurement of carbon emitted into the atmosphere.
The team includes scientists from the UK, Italy, the US, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, Germany and Costa Rica. The project unites several groups working on drone measurements of volcanic gases around the world.
The groups deployed various types of drones (fixed-wing, rotary-wing and combined systems) equipped with gas sensors, spectrometers and sampling devices to acquire measurements near the emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases, and the different methods were compared to verify the areas of optimal use.
The Italian team has made available the geochemical instrumentation developed in its laboratories, for the installation on board of drones developed by a team of the Bristol University, both fixed-wing, more suitable for long-distance flights and to make composition measurements by crossing the plume gases, as well as rotary wing, more versatile for gas sampling at fixed points. Systems integration was carried out in close collaboration between the two teams. Already from the preliminary stages of the project, a rotary wing drone complete with geochemical sensors and other portable instruments were left at the disposal of the volcanological observatory of Papua New Guinea, the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory.
Using new gas sensors and miniaturized spectrometers, and designing innovative sampling devices that can be activated automatically, the researchers were able to fly drones up to 2 km high and 6 km away, and to reach the inaccessible areas where to perform the measurements.
In fact, the campaign on the Manam volcano was particularly challenging. The volcano has a diameter of 10 km and an elevation of 1800 m above sea level, with most of the summit areas totally inaccessible, and is located on an island 13 km from the Northeast coast of Papua New Guinea.
This volcano was known from satellite measurements to be one of the largest sulfur dioxide (SO2) emitters in the world, but before this project nothing was known about its CO2 production, much more difficult to measure from afar due to the high concentrations in the background atmosphere.
Finally, the abundance ratio between these CO2 and SO2 species turns out to be fundamental for determining the probability of the occurrence of an eruption, because it correlates with the depth in which the magma resides, and both species were detected during the campaigns of measurement.
Photo 1 - The island of Manam. (Photo credits: Matthew Wordell).
Photo #1 - The Isle of Manam. (Credits: Matthew Wordell).
Photo 2 - Rotary wing drone with sampling instrumentation. (Photo credits: Matthew Wordell).
Photo #2 - Rotary wing drone with sampling instrumentation. (Photo credits: Matthew Wordell).
Photo 3 - The Italian team in the village, Manam. (Photo credits: Matthew Wordell).
Photo #3 - The Italian team in the village, Manam (Photo credits: Matthew Wordell).