A New Tool for Eruption Forecasting: Carbon-Catching Drones

She and her team flew these drones while they were standing inside the crater to compare distant atmospheric measurements with those closer to the source. They also use traditional ground-based sampling techniques to collect CO₂ directly from volcanic vents.

With their drone data, the researchers found concentrations 23% higher than usual in the atmosphere, suggesting that – despite measuring away from the source – the samples contained enough volcanic CO₂ that they can distinguish it in the data. After calculating the dilution, they confirmed that the amount was consistent with their ground sample, suggesting that drones could act in lieu of direct collection.

The team also measured CO₂ made of carbon-13, a slightly heavier version of the element, has 13 neutrons instead of 12. They discovered Poás had a significantly higher carbon-13 content in 2019 than the data collected collected just a week before the 2017 explosion. That’s notable, D’Arcy said, as it suggests that carbon-13 levels could deplete just before eruptions and rise during quieter times – something that would be useful for monitoring future drone flight.

“Being able to use drones to sample these gases helps us get a feel for the mechanisms that are there,” said Benjamin Jordan, a volcanologist at Brigham Young University-Hawaii who was not involved. can lead to an eruption – and do it safely. In the work.

However, drones have their own set of challenges: At Poás, D’Arcy’s team lost three. (One plane went out of range and stopped responding, and another’s propeller caught on its gas sampler and fell to the ground. The third, sent out to determine the location of the third. two, just randomly falling out of the sky.) However, the device is relatively easy to replace, costing only a few thousand dollars a piece – cheap by research standards. Jordan said: “The cost of a human life is immeasurable. “By using drones, you eliminate that risk.”

Researchers can’t stop exploring inside volcanoes; it’s certainly dangerous, but the experience is unlike any other. “It is very modest,” says de Moor, who comes to Poás about once a month. “It’s an almost spiritual feeling because you don’t really feel like you belong here, in such a hostile environment.”

He imagines that one day, drone technology over volcanoes could be like something out of a sci-fi movie: sophisticated self-flying devices, optimized to counter the hellish conditions of Earth’s most violent eruptions. “And then,” said de Moor, “we will learn a lot.”