Volcano monitoring involves a variety of measurements and observations designed to detect changes at the surface of a volcano that reflect increasing pressure and stresses caused by the movement of magma, or molten rock, within or beneath it. An eruption occurs when magma rises from its source or from a storage reservoir and finally reaches the Earth's surface. As it rises, the magma fractures overlying rocks, which causes earthquakes, and parts of the volcano deform as magma approaching the surface makes room for itself. -- Excerpt from: Brantley and Topinka, 1984 |
Volcano Monitoring Overview |
Volcano Monitoring Networks |
AFM - Acoustic Flow Monitors |
Bench Marks and Reflector Sites |
Field Observations |
Gas and Plume Monitoring |
Geodetic Leveling |
GPS - Global Positioning System Measurements |
Gravity and Magnetic Measurements |
Hydrologic Monitoring |
InSAR -
Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Satellite Radar Interferometry |
LIDAR -
Light Detection and Ranging |
Radial Crack and Thrust Fault Measurements |
"Real-Time" Volcano Monitoring |
RSAM (Real-Time Seismic-Amplitude) Systems
SSAM (Seismic Spectral-Amplitude Measurement) Systems |
Seismic Monitoring |
Slope-Distance Measurements (EDM's) |
Solar Power |
Telemetered Systems |
Night-Time Thermal Observations |
Tilt and Tiltmeters |
Volcano Photography |
Video and Television "Real-Time" Monitoring |