Acquisition of a thermal camera for volcano hazard research and student development

Emphasis Area: Volcano/Atmosphere Interactions

Principal Investigator(s): M. Patrick (PI), G Bluth, W. Rose (Co-PI’s)

Sponsor: National Science Foundation

Funding Level: $75,000

Period: 2007-2008

Abstract:

Thermal cameras, or FLIRs (Forward Looking Infrared Radiometers), have proven invaluable for better understanding a diverse range of volcanic processes and hazards, ranging from lava flow emplacement to explosive ash plume dynamics. Over the last five years, thermal cameras have become an integral part of studies at volcanoes in Italy and the Cascades, in particular, because of the unique information they convey on effusive thermal structures and due to their ability to identify zones of structural weakness that would normally go unseen to the naked eye. Their current paucity within the volcanological community, however, has limited their utilization in many promising locations. In particular, Central America – which exhibits a remarkable level of both persistent explosive and effusive activity, and is highly accessible from the U.S. – is largely unexplored by thermal monitoring tools. This proposal seeks support for a thermal camera to enable international collaborative research and student training through thermal studies of volcanic hazards in Central America and Ecuador. The research and student training with the camera will build upon the existing collaborative infrastructure that Michigan Technological University (MTU) has cultivated in the region over the last few decades. Currently MTU hosts an array of volcano hazards-related projects, including the Peace Corps Master’s International program and an NSF-funded PIRE project, based on close collaboration with volcanologists in Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Ecuador.

The camera is intended for two primary purposes. First, it will enable collaborative MTU faculty and student research on volcanic hazards in Central America and Ecuador. Collaborative research and monitoring will include such projects as imaging explosive activity to understand plume dynamics and conduit processes, understanding emplacement of lava and pyroclastic flows, characterizing changes at fumarole fields that may presage eruptive activity, and surveying for hot fractures which may point to localized instabilities and collapse risk. In addition, the requested thermal camera will also serve as a shared resource available to the local hazard agencies both for routine monitoring and for hazard response and mitigation during eruptive crises. Second, the camera will serve as an educational tool for MTU and Puerto Rican students as well as a tool for training Latin American partners in thermal monitoring techniques. A portion of the student research and training will be accomplished through student placement in Latin American countries by the Peace Corps Master’s International program. These students are embedded at volcano observatories for prolonged periods (2 years) to conduct hazard monitoring and education, allowing student researchers to collect long-term data to track systematic changes at volcanic systems, greatly improving upon the typical limitations of campaign-based fieldwork. Training of Latin American colleagues in thermal monitoring will ensure the best use of the thermal camera during routine monitoring and eruption crises, and will be accomplished through workshops and shoulder-to-shoulder field deployment with MTU.

Intellectual merits include: