VIGIA: A Thermal and Visible Imagery System to Track Volcanic Explosions

Abstract

The monitoring of the frequency, intensity/magnitude and dynamics of explosive events at volcanoes in a state of unrest is key to surveying and forecasting their activity. Thermal and visual video observations of eruptive phenomena, and their correlation with data from deformation and seismic networks, are often limited by technical constraints including lack of time synchronisation, data volumes and power consumption. Several solutions are currently available and here we present an instrument designed for the permanent and real-time observation of volcanic explosive events in the visible and thermal infrared wavelengths, the output of which can be fully synchronised with ancillary monitoring data. Our system (VIGIA: visual and infrared ground-based imagery analyser) follows an edge computing approach whereby information is processed on-site, and periodic reports are sent to the local observatory and the system “decides” when to acquire high-temporal resolution data so as to capture key explosive events. As a permanent installation, VIGIA enables the continuous, long-term and time-synchronised observation of volcanic activity while reducing power consumption and data volumes. We suggest that VIGIA-style instruments could provide useful scientific and monitoring information, and provide here the key details of the components, assembly, and code so that observatories can replicate the system and build their own VIGIA at minimal cost. We use the Reventador volcano, in Ecuador, as a case study to present the capabilities of the instrument.

Applications of Ground-Based Infrared Cameras for Remote Sensing of Volcanic Plumes

“…The use of infrared cameras at volcanoes is not widespread, but several field studies have been undertaken using handheld, commercial infrared cameras, e.g., [6,8,9,12,13]. In many cases where they are used, they tend to provide real-time infrared imagery of a mostly qualitative nature with a temperature scale showing scene temperatures.…”

“…Prior work on this topic has been hindered by the availability of cost-effective systems with sufficient accuracy and ease of use. With the widespread availability of uncooled thermal cameras, increasingly, camera systems are being deployed and used at volcanoes [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Patrick et al [7] used a FLIR camera to characterise volcanic activity at Stromboli, Italy.…”

Twenty years of explosive-effusive activity at El Reventador volcano (Ecuador) recorded in its geomorphology

“…Identification of the morphological changes of a volcano's surface can be achieved through regular observations using visual and thermal images (Spampinato et al, 2011;Mania et al, 2019). Direct observations of superficial activity at active volcanoes represent a fundamental tool in volcano monitoring (Spampinato et al, 2011;Vásconez et al, 2022a). These observations contribute to our understanding of volcanic processes occurring during an eruption and are critical in quantifying the distribution and volume of deposits, as well as changes in eruptive dynamics.…”

Toward a Real-Time Analysis of Column Height by Visible Cameras: An Example from Mt. Etna, in Italy

“…Multiple volcanic hazards are associated with tephra dispersal [1][2][3], which encourages volcanological observatories to permanently improve their monitoring systems with the aim of tracking the main features of an explosive eruption [4][5][6][7]. Eruption column height is one of the most important source parameters for volcanic monitoring purposes [8,9].…”