Infra-Sound Monitoring

During volcanic eruptions, energy passes into the ground in the form of seismic waves. But volcanoes can also be noisy places, and energy is also released into the atmosphere in the form of acoustic or sound waves. Some of this is audible to humans, but most sound emitted by volcanoes is low-frequency, below the threshold of human hearing (around 20Hz), and this type of sound is termed “infra-sound”.

Research has shown that infrasound signals can be used to help detect, locate and understand volcanic events, particularly explosions and pyroclastic flows. It is thus a valuable tool for understanding volcanoes and MVO uses infrasound as part of its monitoring efforts.

Infrasound is recorded using low-frequency microphones that measure changes in atmospheric pressure. MVO uses these infrasound sensors at several of its seismic stations, and it is hoped that this network can be expanded as part of the planned upgrade of the seismic network.

Unmanned Aircraft Systems

The MVO recently acquired Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to assist in monitoring of the Soufriere Hills Volcano. These include the DJI Mavic 3T, DJI Matrice 350 RTK and the Quantum Systems Trinity Pro. The UAS will be used to assist in gas monitoring, site surveys, photogrammetry and mapping. Selected pilots from MVO were trained to fly the UAS. Read more about the training here.