Who would have guessed that a remotely operated drone might do the risky work that volcanologists conduct?
Graduate student Fiona D'Arcy of McGill University, whose research focuses on volcanic geochemistry, and her colleagues affirm that drones can do their work in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. Their published paper showed that using data collected by drones in the atmosphere to estimate carbon dioxide emissions is feasible.
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Testing the Method and its Result
According to the report by Wired, D'Arcy put his theory to the test in April 2019 by sending sample drones into the hot, deadly gas plumes from Poás, a volcano in Costa Rica that had erupted only two years ago. The group also made the journey down into its crater to take hand-held readings of the CO2 level.
They reportedly spent nearly four hours on the trail while it just took a few short minutes for the drone to fly. Nevertheless, there was a striking similarity between the two sets of data.
The drone data showed concentrations 23% higher than usual atmospheric levels, suggesting that the samples had enough volcanic CO2 to be detected. They validated that the quantity matched their ground samples after allowing for dilution, proving that drones may replace in-person sample gathering.
D'Arcy said that if this is the standard procedure, it will be much easier to collect samples without putting everyone in danger.
However, drones come with their own set of problems. D'Arcy's team lost three devices at Poás. The first one went out of touch and stopped responding to radio signals, while the second one plummeted onto the ground when its rotor got caught in the apparatus used to measure gas levels. The third drone was sent to search for the second one, but it unexpectedly crashed to the ground.
The Impact on Future Volcano Studies
The technology allows for the prospect of more frequent sampling, which might aid in the development of more comprehensive knowledge of the changes in gas concentrations that occur throughout the various phases of volcanic activity.
Better predictability of volcanic eruptions could also result. After all, these eruptions are notoriously difficult to forecast despite the warning signs, such as fresh gas, earthquake, or a mysterious bulge as magma rises underneath.
Sometimes nothing indicates anything, but the blast goes off anyhow, just like what happened in 2019. Nearly a dozen visitors were killed when a volcano in New Zealand suddenly erupted, sending ash, smoke, and poisonous gas kilometers into the air. Then in 2021, Mount Nyiragongo in the Congo ruptured, sending lava into neighboring villages with little time for evacuation.
More gas samples may fill that data gap. Researchers require long-term data, especially from before and during eruptions, when collecting the sample is more crucial yet very dangerous.
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Written by Trisha Kae Andrada
