You are browsing the archive for monitoring Archives - Magma Cum Laude.
1 August 2014
Help the IVM-Fund replace monitoring equipment at the Santiaguito Observatory
The IVM-Fund exists to assist volcano observatories with the smaller expenses that may not make it into a grant or a large instrumentation campaign, but which are nonetheless crucial to the day-to-day work of the scientists. In the last few years, they’ve been able to supply OVSAN and INSIVUMEH (the Guatemalan geologic survey) with a variety of pieces of field equipment – things like GPS units, digital cameras, thermal sensors, and rangefinders. They’ve also assisted the observatory in getting an internet connection hooked up (that’s how you get those lovely dome pictures on their webcam every day). But that kind of equipment, especially in a harsh environment with lots of moisture and volcanic ash, needs replacing every few years.
21 May 2011
Fundraising update for the Santiaguito Volcano Observatory
I’ve recently received some great news from Dr. Jeff Witter of the International Volcano Monitoring Fund (IVM-Fund): the fundraising that we’ve been doing on behalf of the Santiaguito Volcano Observatory (OVSAN) raised over $4,000, and Jeff has just recently returned from a trip to deliver equipment purchased with the money to the Observatory. (If you’re unfamiliar with the fundraiser I’m talking about, check out the “Donate to Santiaguito” tab at the top of the blog.)
27 July 2010
Fundraising update: $10 for Guatemala
Geologizing is still on hold for a bit (it’s amazing how hard it is to get your brain back into ‘work’ mode after field work happens), but here’s an update on the fundraising drive for the Santiaguito Volcano Observatory in Guatemala. Donations have started to come in, but this is the official kickoff, and guess what? The International Volcano Monitoring Fund has made it incredibly easy (and affordable!) to help …
19 June 2010
The Santiaguito Volcano Observatory needs your help!
While I was in Guatemala working at the Santiaguito lava dome complex, my field group had a lot of help from the Instituto Nacional de Sismologia, Vulcanologia, Metereologia e Hidrologia (INSIVUMEH). And when I say a lot, I mean “helped organize every logistical detail of the trip and gave us a place to stay at the Santiaguito Volcano Observatory“. I could never have done any of this work without their help, …
18 August 2009
Volcano “spiders”
Most of us hate the thought of an infestation, but in the case of volcano-monitoring ‘spiders’, it’s a safe way to gather information about active volcanoes. A number of recent articles have been talking about a new NASA program to drop instrument-loaded tripods on Mount St. Helens, putting monitoring equipment in areas that are dangerous for scientists to visit or just plain inaccessible. (See additional coverage on the Volcanism Blog, …
24 March 2009
Sweet irony
Guess who isn’t commenting on the eruption of Mount Redoubt? Sometimes nature has really perfect timing.
25 February 2009
A letter to Gov. Bobby Jindal:
To say that I was shocked, appalled and dismayed on hearing the “volcano monitoring” comment in your speech following President Obama’s address to Congress would be a massive understatement. You, and anyone who thought that including that comment in the Republican rebuttal was a good idea, are guilty of the dangerous and pervasive attitude of willful ignorance about science that has sadly pervaded the government of this country in the …
22 November 2008
Taking a volcano’s temperature
While running through my RSS feed, I came across this National Geographic article about using thermal infrared imaging to monitor and forecast volcanic eruptions. I’m currently working on a project that involves using satellite imagery to detect and map hydrothermal alteration products in a volcanic dome, so I was definitely interested, especially because the scientists involved are using data from the same instrument that I am. First, I have to …
Jessica Ball is a volcanologist at the U.S. Geological Survey, researching volcanic hydrothermal systems and stability, and doing science communication for the California Volcano Observatory. She previously worked at the Geological Society of America's Washington DC Policy Office, learning about the intersection of Earth science and legislative affairs. Her Mendenhall postdoc and PhD focused on how water affects the stability of volcanoes, and involved both field investigations and numerical modeling applications. Her blogging covers a range of topics, from her experiences in academic geosciences to science outreach and communication to her field and lab work in volcanology.