DETECT
Amazing instruments can detect tiny changes that can warn us about shifting magma below ground.
This works best when instruments are there for a long time, and we share data!
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The instruments we use to DETECT signals from volcanoes have changed dramatically over time.
How has this changed the types of data we collect, & who collects it?
What happens when data collection networks exclude those who helped generate it, & the communities that need it the most?
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Members of the University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre descend into the crater of La Soufrière St Vincent with equipment to monitor the lava dome (top left) which emerged from the crater lake in late 1971.
Early observers and inventors paved the way for the modern instruments we use to monitor volcanoes today. From simple observations of shaking, to noticing eye-watering gasses many of the tools we use today are based on things humans have detected for themselves throughout history.
As our understanding of volcanoes (and technology) has evolved, these instruments got ever more sensitive, and were able to record and transmit data remotely. This evolution of networks has changed the way scientists sense things at volcanoes, this can be a good thing as it means we can monitor volcanoes from a safer distance.
Cartoon depicting some of the ways we use instruments to detect signals from volcanoes. Can you guess what the different signals are? How do you think we detected these things in the past?