NASA Goes Inside a Volcano, Monitors Activity

http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2009-117

NASA Goes Inside a Volcano, Monitors Activity
Jet Propulsion Laboratory
August 07, 2009

PASADENA, Calif. -- Scientists have placed high-tech "spiders" inside
and around the mouth of Mount St. Helens, one of the most active
volcanoes in the United States. Networks such as these could one day
be
used to respond rapidly to an impending eruption.

On July 14, 2009, these spider pods were lowered by cable from a
helicopter hovering about 100 feet up (30 meters) and gently put in
hot
spots inside and around the volcano crater.

"This project demonstrates that a low-cost sensor network system can
support real-time monitoring in extremely challenging environments,"
said WenZhan Song of Washington State University Vancouver. Song is
the
principal investigator for this NASA-funded technology research
project,
which also draws on participation from the U.S. Geological Survey and
from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

These robotic emissaries were built to go where no human can and
operate
in extreme temperatures and treacherous terrain. Fifteen pods form a
virtual wireless network, communicating with each other and the Earth
Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite, operated by NASA's Goddard Space Flight
Center, in Greenbelt, Md.

"Taking data from the ground onsite and from above by satellite gives
you a great picture of what is going on inside the volcano," said
Steve
Chien, principal scientist for autonomous systems at JPL.

Each pod contains a seismometer to detect earthquakes; a GPS receiver
to
pinpoint the exact location and measure subtle ground deformation; an
infrared sounder to sense volcanic explosions; and a lightning
detector
to search for ash cloud formation. The main instrument box is the size
and shape of a microwave oven. It sits on top of a three-legged
tripod,
which is why scientists call them spiders. The pods are powered by
batteries that can last for at least a year.

"With these high-tech instruments, we can rapidly respond during
periods
of volcanic unrest to supplement our permanent monitoring network or
quickly replace damaged stations without excessive exposure to
personnel," said Rick LaHusen, an instrumentation engineer with the
U.S.
Geological Survey's Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Wash.

In 1980, a tremendous eruption at Mount St. Helens caused considerable
loss of life and damage. More recently, in 2004, the volcano came back
to life and erupted more than 100 million cubic meters (26 billion
gallons) of lava, accompanied by a series of explosions that hurled
rock
and ash far from the vent. If eruptions like these ever occur again, a
sensor network could be quickly put in place to provide valuable
real-time information to scientists and emergency services.

This work is part of NASA's plan to develop a sensor web to provide
timely data and analyses for scientific research, natural hazard
mitigation, and the exploration of other planets in this solar system
and beyond.

"We hope this network will provide a blueprint for future networks to
be
installed on many of the world's unmonitored active volcanoes, so
educated and reliable estimates can be made when a town or a village
needs to be evacuated to reduce the risk to life and property," said
Project Manager Sharon Kedar (shah-RONE keh-DARR) of JPL.

Chien said, "Hostile environments like Mount St. Helens are proving
grounds for future space missions, such as to Mars, where we may
someday
have similar sensor networks to track a meteor strike, dust storm or
Mars quake, as a virtual scientist on the ground."

Song said, "The design and deployment experiences will help us
understand challenging environments and inspire new discoveries."

A team of engineers, students, volcanologists and geologists put the
system together. The team includes the U.S. Geological Survey's
Cascades
Volcano Observatory staff, who designed and built the "spider"
hardware;
Washington State University in Vancouver, where the sensor network
software was written; and NASA, which developed software to make the
spiders able to detect events to trigger space observations by the
EO-1
satellite.

For more information on Volcano sensor networks see:
http://ai.jpl.nasa.gov/public/projects/sensorweb/ .

The work is funded by NASA's Earth Science Technology Office through
the
Advanced Information System Technology program and also by the USGS
Volcano Hazards Program. JPL is managed for NASA by the California
Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

Media Contact:

Carolina Martinez/Guy Webster 818-354-9382/354-6278
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
/

2009-117