Remote sensing and identification of volcanic plumes using fixed‐wing UAVs over Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala

Abstract

This paper describes a series of proof-of-concept Beyond Visual Line Of Sight unmanned aerial vehicle flights which reached a range of up to 9 km and an altitude of 4,410 m Above Mean Sea Level over Volcán de Fuego in Guatemala, interacting with the volcanic plume on multiple occasions across a range of different conditions.Volcán de Fuego is an active volcano which emits gas and ash regularly, causing disruption to airlines operating from the international airport 50 km away and impacting the lives of the local population. Collection of data from within the plume develops scientists' understanding of the composition of the volcano's output and is of use to scientists, aviation, and hazard management groups alike. This paper presents preliminary results of multiple plume interceptions with multiple aircraft, carrying a variety of sensors. A plume-detection metric is introduced, which uses a combination of flight data and atmospheric sensor data to identify flight through a volcanic plume. Future work will develop the automation of plume tracking such that reliable scientific data sets can be gathered in a robust manner.

Volcanological applications of unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS): Developments, strategies, and future challenges

“…3. 1.67114 Volcán de Fuego, Guatemala In-plume ash sampling using adhesive stubs and development of a plume detection algorithm Schellenberg et al [2019] able to conduct aerial research. In addition to the aerial vehicle itself, a UAS includes all the supporting equipment and personnel, such as ground stations, pilots, refuelling facilities, sensor payloads, and can extend to the use of external resources such as GNSS.…”

“…For larger particle sizes, such as coarser ash, adhesive-based collectors such as tape, sheets or carbon stubs (conductive tabs used to mount samples for scanning electron microscopy), have also been used (e.g. at Volcán de Fuego [Schellenberg et al 2019] and Mount Ontake [Mori et al 2016]). Adhesive collectors are extremely lightweight, allowing synchronous measurement with a larger payload (e.g.…”

“…a Multi-GAS analyser or optical particle counter), but cannot guarantee the collection of a representative particle size distribution, unlike cascade impactors with specifically designed 'isokinetic' inlets. Inlets and adhesive collectors require protection within a remotely operated enclosure to prevent contamination during take-off and landing [Schellenberg et al 2019].…”

“…The advantage of a custom system (or software) is the ability to modify the data stream to contain measurement data from payloads ], or to send commands to the vehicle to activate/deactivate mechanisms or sensors [Schellenberg et al 2019]. In these cases, update data rates can be slow (e.g.~1-10 Hz) but sufficient for slow sampling sensors, with faster sampling systems requiring data aggregation before transmission, or communication of only status messages.…”

“…The importance of frequent, regular measurements is underscored by abrupt changes in gas composition occurring immediately prior to significant shifts in eruptive behaviour, such as the initiation of large 'paroxysmal' eruptions [Aiuppa et al 2017a;Aiuppa et al 2007;Werner et al 2013], or as precursors to oth-erwise unanticipated phreatic/phreatomagmatic eruptions [de Moor et al 2019]. UAS equipped with miniaturised gas sensing instrumentation (see Subsection 2.2.3; Figure 2A, Figure 15) are now bridging the gap between direct measurements and remote sensing observations, enabling repeatable, proximal measurements from ranges >5 km Diaz et al 2015;Kazahaya et al 2019;Liu et al 2019;Mori et al 2016;Pieri et al 2013a;Rüdiger et al 2018;Schellenberg et al 2019;Shinohara 2013;Stix et al 2018b;Syahbana et al 2019;Xi et al 2016]. Topographic changes include a ground subsidence associated with a long-term lava lake level drop during that period and cones of debris located at the foot of gullies and cliffs.…”