Abstract
Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) are developing into fundamental tools for tackling the grand challenges in volcanology; here, we review the systems used and their diverse applications. UAS can typically provide image and topographic data at two orders of magnitude better spatial resolution than space-based remote sensing, and close-range observations at temporal resolutions down to those of video frame rates. Responsive deployments facilitate dense time-series measurements, unique opportunities for geophysical surveys, sample collection from hostile environments such as volcanic plumes and crater lakes, and emergency deployment of ground-based sensors (and robots) into hazardous regions. UAS have already been used to support hazard management and decision-makers during eruptive crises. As technologies advance, increasing system capabilities, autonomy and availability, supported by more diverse and lighter-weight sensors, will offer unparalleled potential for hazard monitoring. UAS will provide opportunities for pivotal advances in our understanding of complex physical and chemical volcanic processes.
Highlights
The last few decades have seen major advances in our understanding of volcanic processes
Of the multitude of volcanic gas species, only SO2 is currently detectable at sufficient resolution for volcanological applications by space-based remote sensing methods, and with the considerable uncertainties associated with observing through the overlying atmosphere, CO2 could be added soon [e.g. Eldering et al 2019; Schwandner et al 2017]
This review aims to provide an overview of volcanologically appropriate Unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS) hardware and sensors, and to outline the procedures and protocols for successful mission planning, survey execution, and data acquisition
Summary
The last few decades have seen major advances in our understanding of volcanic processes. Accurate eruption and hazard forecasting, and quantification of the volcanic life cycle globally, remain grand challenges [National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2017]. To help tackle these challenges, remotely piloted and autonomous airborne systems offer paradigm-shifting potential for sampling and measurement from the inaccessible and hostile environments involved. Despite the current wealth of volcanological measurement and monitoring systems, critical gaps in data acquisition capabilities remain due to the rapid, unpredictable and hazardous nature of many key processes. With ‘UAS’ representing the system as a whole, we refer to the vehicle when only the airborne platform is implied (readers interested in UAS nomenclature should see Granshaw [2018] for a detailed review)
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