Friday’s Food for Thought: Mapping Volcanoes

Imagine being able to detect when a volcano will erupt. This is exactly what international group Deep Carbon Observatory aims to do. The team has the goal to place gas sensors on 15 of the most active volcanoes on Earth by 2019, reports Smithsonian Magazine. The sensors forecast eruptions by the amount of gas the volcano releases.

Deep Carbon Observatory also released an interactive visualization that allows the public to study historic volcanic data from around the world. Users can scroll through the data to view every earthquake, eruption, and emission that has occurred from 1960 to present day.

Satellites are also being used to observe volcanic activity. The European Space Agency (ESA) is monitoring 22 active volcanoes from space. ESA satellites capture imagery to detect change, study thermal anomalies around the volcanoes, and monitor the health of vegetation surrounding volcanoes post-eruption.

Photo Credit: Deep Carbon Observatory