Awareness
The Pu’u O’o crater complex appears to be singing again, after a brief respite of months. Tungurahua Volcano is popping back to life, rested after its last serious eruption less than a week ago. Galeras, in Colombia, may or may not be ringing - hard to tell in that neck of the woods. Mout St. Helens in napping. The stations in Palau, Diego Garcia, and Hualalai are healthy, the one in Volcano has a sensor down, the arrays in Ecuador are fine. Today is President’s day, a US holiday, and all is well on the Western front. No rest for the wary.
Keeping real-time infrasonic data streams alive, tuning into their significance, and turning sound bytes into knowledge, is what we do. We are sentries of sound. We listen continuously for the deep natural and man-made infrasounds of monsters - nuclear tests, volcanoes, meteors - coexisting with the grave soundscape of Earth.
And there is always something blowing up somewhere …
March 22nd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
milton;
how dangerous is it to be so close to an active volcano? what are your exit strategies?
what are the infrasonic signals telling us about the dynamics of a volcano?
cheers;
jim
March 30th, 2008 at 5:07 pm
Hi Jim,
Even the gentlest of active volcanoes can be deadly! Hollow surfaces underlain by hot rocks, deadly fumes, and unstable cliffs may all cause serious harm, and protection starts with an accurate assessment of the hazards at play for the activity planned at that volcano. Preparation may be just limited to selecting abrasion resistant clothing and reliable means of navigation and communication. To this one may add to wearing flame-retardant clothes and gas masks, as when approaching an incandscent open vent. Helmets and shelters would be needed for more explosive volcanoes. And in Alaska where you may be dropped off by a helicopter in the tundra, a full survival pack for at least a day is needed!
All volcanic eruptions produce sound, and in general the deeper the sound, the larger the process that produces it. Infrasound captures those volcanic processes with physical sizes substantially larger than humans - we listen to the giants and monsters of the natural world.
Aloha, Milton
October 6th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Great photo….and thanks for the update.