Gas emissions represent the amount of activity occurring beneath the surface of a volcano. Measuring these emissions lets researchers observe what can’t be seen from the surface.
This knowledge is vital for hazard monitoring and the prediction of future eruptions. Since the mid-2000s, ultraviolet SO2 cameras have become important tools to measure emissions.
However, these cameras typically cost upwards of $20,000 - meaning very few are installed permanently - and need to be continuously manned to harvest the data effectively.
To get better long-term monitoring data, an international team of researchers has developed an SO2 camera to continually measure emission rates from volcanoes.
“Our instrument uses a sensor not dissimilar to smartphone camera sensors. It is modified to make it sensitive to ultraviolet light, therefore enabling SO2 detection,” said Dr Thomas Wilkes, a researcher at the University of Sheffield and lead author of the study.
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