SKATE volcano monitoring enhances safety

When hundreds of volcanologists gathered in Geneva last July for the world’s largest event volcanology conferenceItalian Instituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) Attracted special attention. ingv was presenting Result From five years of very close observation of Stromboli, one of the most monitored volcanoes in the Mediterranean. Its frequent small eruptions make it a natural laboratory for volcanologists and a constant safety concern for the island’s approximately 500 residents and thousands of tourists.

The last three years of close observations were made possible by a portable observatory called the Setup for the Kinematic Acquisition of Explosive Eruptions, or SKATE. The suitcase-sized system is packed with technology that captures explosions at hundreds of frames per second, as well as recording their roar and their heat.

Filming and analyzing an explosive eruption at close range for hours, as well as capturing data about its heat, sound and motion, has historically been difficult and dangerous. But data scientists need to understand how explosions work and evolve over time. The SKATE observatory makes that process both safe and simple by autonomously recording synchronized streams of data and reducing the time researchers spend on the volcano’s slopes.

“Explosive detonations are extremely fast processes occurring with particles the size of a truck or a dust particle that can travel from a few meters per second to supersonic speeds,” says Jacopo TadducciA senior researcher at INGV. “You need cameras that shoot hundreds of frames per second and equipment that can see, hear and feel immediately to understand the cause and effect of an explosion.”

In addition to Stromboli, the skate has been tested around Mount Etnatogether with fuego guatemala And Santiaguito Volcanoaround the world, 500 million people live near active volcanoes, of which there are many , Without any monitoring system. INGV is now planning deployment on other volcanoes, including Mount Yasur in Vanuatu, It is known as the “Lighthouse of the Pacific” due to its rhythmic eruptions of incandescent lava and gas.

SKATE’s innovative Volcano Technology

The skate was assembled technology equipment engineering solutions (TEES), an Italian manufacturer of custom scientific instruments and dewsoftA Slovenian company specializing in high-speed data acquisition and measurement systems. two companies Packing the entire observatory in a rigid polypropylene shell followed INGV’s specifications on a budget of €50,000 (about US$58,000).

SKATE is the streamlined successor to the older INGV prototype known as FAMoUS (Fast Multiparametric Setup), which first proved the value of combining high-speed, thermal and acoustic sensors. But it also had serious drawbacks: it was heavy and cumbersome, took a long time to set up on site, and required manual triggering, forcing researchers to spend hours in dangerous areas just to capture a few scenes.

SKATE is more portable and easier to deploy than its predecessor, a system called FAMoUS.Piergiorgio Scarlato and Jacopo Tadducci

Inside the skate, a waterproof pc Coordinates a thermal camera recording at 32 frames per second, and a high speed camera Records bursts of footage when it detects a sudden increase in temperature. Continuous 4K video capture will, in fact, quickly deplete SKATE’s data storage, as a day of 4K recording will require 100 times more memory than SKATE.

“The real challenge was not plugging the cameras and sensors in,” says alessia longoAn engineer at DaveSoft. “This was forcing them to write to a single, completely synchronized file and control the data flood.”

That data is stored on two SSDs with a total capacity of up to 6 terabytes, and the system operates autonomously throughout the day in good weather, relying on solar panels and replaceable batteries.

“The creativity of volcanologists lies in their ability to take technologies developed for other industries, such as high-speed cameras used at sporting events or military thermal imagers, and adapt them for scientific research on active volcanoes,” says. piergiorgio scarlatoResearch Director of INGV.

Modular design enhances volcanic monitoring

Located between 300 and 900 meters from Stromboli’s active vent, the skate moves almost entirely on its own. The researchers go up only once a day to change batteries and memory cards.

The design is also modular. As well as thermal, high-speed and acoustic sensors, INGV is now testing the skate with a UV camera to determine the quantity sulfur dioxide emissions. It is also testing a laser rangefinder that provides the distance to a volcano’s plume or crater rim, or moving slopes, up to ten times per second. It can also provide analysis of individual lava bombs and rock fragments ejected during eruptions, allowing accurate reconstruction of their trajectories and landing areas.

“Depth is what turns a great image into something that measures up,” says Scarlato. “By understanding how volcanic projectiles are launched, how far they travel and where they fall, we can better assess the impact of an eruption on people, infrastructure and the surrounding environment.”

On Stromboli, the INGV team has analyzed more than a thousand eruptions recorded between 2019 and 2024, matching high-speed video, temperature and sound. Each vent, they found, develops its own personality: gas-containing jets sound softer and last longer, while volcanic bombs – chunks of lava ejected during an eruption – and ash-containing eruptions roar for a shorter period of time and throw incandescent fragments high into the air.

SKATE’s role in volcanic data analysis

There is no skate 24/7 alarm. Streaming from the crater rim in real time is very complex and data-hungry. Instead, it helps fixed monitoring networks located far from the crater – such as thermal cameras, infrasound arrays and other instruments – better understand their signals.

A researcher uses SKATE to monitor a volcano.Piergiorgio Scarlato and Jacopo Tadducci

SKATE’s data is helping scientists test hypotheses Study how gas bubbles rise and burst inside magma, how volcanic tubes are shaped, and subsurface processes that normal observations cannot see. INGV’s goal is to turn certain recurring patterns into reference libraries that can train automated systems to recognize early warning signals in live data streams.

SKATE’s success is changing how volcanologists monitor active volcanoes for warning signs. But volcanoes will never be a truly predictable or safe environment. Moisture often corrodes cables and steams camera lenses. During a recent deployment, a goat ate the microphone cable. And most recently on Stromboli, INGV experimented with a new black-and-white high-speed sensor, ideal for tracking glow bombs at night, which proved trickier than expected, as Stromboli’s eruptions last only a few seconds and make it difficult for the sensors to focus on them.

Despite the obstacles, the fast, detailed data provided by SKATE is welcome. “Working in such extreme conditions with humidity, gases and sudden temperature changes is a real test for any technology,” says Scarlato. “The difference now is that our intervention lasts minutes, not hours.”