AVTIS – All-weather Volcano Topography Imaging Sensor

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For over 15 years, MVO and researchers from the University of St Andrews, along with others from Lancaster and Reading Universities in the UK, have collaborated on the development and deployment of a unique ground-based millimeter wavelength radar system called AVTIS (All-weather Volcano Topography Imaging Sensor). The AVTIS instrument provides MVO with the capability to monitor changes to the lava dome at the Soufriere Hills volcano around-the-clock, and, thanks to the millimeter wavelength, the lava dome can be scanned even when covered in cloud, a frequent occurrence for a volcano located in the tropics.

The current 3rd generation of the AVTIS instrument (AVTIS3) is a fixed instrument located at Windy Hill, 4 km north of the lava dome. With an unobstructed view of the northern flank of the SHV lava dome, AVTIS can scan the lava dome and provide sub-daily and daily updates on any changes to the size and shape of the dome either from fresh lava extrusion or mass-wasting processing such as dome collapses and rockfall activity.

AVTIS instrument on the concrete plinth at Windy Hill, Montserrat.

Sequence of images showing the view from Windy Hill of the north flank of the volcano (top) and three different levels of processing of the scan data.


More information about AVTIS can be found on the University of St Andrews’ Millimetre Wave & EPR Group website.

Publications

Macfarlane, D.G., Odbert, H.M., Robertson, D.A., James, M.R., Pinkerton, H., Wadge, G., 2013. Topographic and Thermal Mapping of Volcanic Terrain Using the AVTIS Ground-Based 94-GHz Dual-Mode Radar/Radiometric Imager. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing 51, 455–472. https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2012.2202667

Wadge, G., Macfarlane, D.G., Odbert, H.M., James, M.R., Hole, J.K., Ryan, G., Bass, V., De Angelis, S., Pinkerton, H., Robertson, D.A., Loughlin, S.C., 2008. Lava dome growth and mass wasting measured by a time series of ground-based radar and seismicity observations. J. Geophys. Res. 113. https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JB005466

Wadge, G., Macfarlane, D.G., Odbert, H.M., Stinton, A., Robertson, D.A., James, M.R., Pinkerton, H., 2014. Chapter 13 AVTIS observations of lava dome growth at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat: 2004 to 2011. Geological Society, London, Memoirs 39, 229–240. https://doi.org/10.1144/M39.13

Wadge, G., Macfarlane, D.G., Robertson, D.A., Hale, A.J., Pinkerton, H., Burrell, R.V., Norton, G.E., James, M.R., 2005. AVTIS: A novel millimetre-wave ground based instrument for volcano remote sensing. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 146, 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2005.03.003