Etna, new hi-tech system to control the volcano. “It is the most monitored in the world” – time.news

by time news
from Except Phallic

An Italian-French project makes it possible to verify environmental and geophysical parameters for scientific research in environments that are difficult to access. The scientist Viccaro: “Place of international experimentation “

Etna is a place of global technological avant-garde. Among the many original aspects of the great volcano, in a perennial state of activity, there is also that of being a giant outdoor science laboratory: a high-tech monitoring network extends for hundreds of kilometers. The latest news on this comes from ainnovative agreement between the Ingv Etneo Observatory and St Microeletronics, the Italian-French giant manufacturer of semiconductor electronic components. And this is an important and suggestive innovation, since it will allow us to observe and monitor even the most difficult to access places on Etna and the interior of the lava flow caves. The project is called Etna-Net and aims to create a network of sensors for “monitoring physical quantities in the most inaccessible places in volcanoes”. A hi-tech monitoring kit was installed in the “Micio Conti” cave in the “Complesso Immacolatelle and Micio Conti” nature reserve in the Etna world, managed by the University of Catania, directed by the geologist Giovanni Sturiale.

Science, technology and industry

In the industrial area of ​​Catania stands a StM plant which is among the most advanced at an international level, both in terms of research and in terms of production. At the foot of Mount Etna, the StM employs 5,000 people directly, while another 3,000 work in the related industries. St, among its numerous projects, is working on the application of micro electromechanical systems (MEMS: Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems) for the study of the dynamics of the Etna volcano. Thanks to the “Etna-Net” project, it is possible to monitor environmental and geophysical parameters for scientific research in environments that are as significant as they are critical for data transmission and power management. Alessandro Bonforte and Roberto Maugeri of Ingv and Rosario Catania of STMicroelectronics explain that “a radio frequency transmission kit with LoRa (Long Range) technology produced by ST was installed in the cave” Micio Conti “, consisting of a card that acts as a Node , which contains the sensors and the data transmission module, and a card that acts as a Gateway, which receives this data and feeds it into a wired Lan network and also to the internet if it is connected to a modem. This “system” offers great potential to create infrastructures that can support the communication of many sensors located even at a distance between them and in remote or not easily accessible areas.».

Etna: a place of international experimentation

This further innovation shows how the Etna world is a place of international experimentation. It is also a place for multidisciplinary studies and research. Etna, as it is known, is the most studied and monitored volcano on the globe. In addition to being the one most cited in the history of culture by poets, philosophers and writers. Volcanic activity has been written in scriptural history for at least 2700 years. The scientific documentation dates back to the sixteenth century. It should also be remembered that Etna is part of the Unesco world heritage. The authoritative scientist Marco Viccaro, professor of Geochemistry and Volcanology at the University of Catania and president of the association of Italian volcanologists, says: “The extraordinary dynamism of Etna, undoubtedly one of the most active volcanoes in the world, has urged scientists to develop over the centuries a growing level of attention towards its activity volcanic, with the main purpose of groped to anticipate any adverse events, thus mitigating their effects. The nineteenth and early twentieth century volcanology was based exclusively on the direct observation of eruptive phenomena, while today we have an incredible spectrum of technologies for the acquisition of data of different nature to monitor volcanic activity. The data obtained from the INGV monitoring networks are useful for understanding, for example, the preparatory phases of eruptive events at the top and on the sides of the building or the evolution of these eruptive events over time. Surveillance in the visible field is now also combined with surveillance by means of thermal cameras, effective for highlighting surface heat anomalies due, for example, to the opening of new eruptive vents, to the morphological evolution of active lava fields or simply to identify anomalies. of the thermal flow “.

The INGV monitoring networks of Etna

Viccaro, whose studies on Etna and other Sicilian and European volcanoes have been published in the most prestigious international magazines in the sector, also collaborates with Ingv. It should be emphasized that the Ingv of Catania, directed by the volcanologist Stefano Branca, carries out an extraordinary job of monitoring and sophisticated processing of a myriad of data. Here comes the data from a multiplicity of multi-parameter stations located on Etna. Viccaro tells: «There are many INGV monitoring networks installed on Etna that acquire geophysical data, even continuously and in real-time. Among them are those dedicated to monitoring changes due to soil deformations even in the order of millimeters, such as the permanent clinometric network, the GPS network or that of strainmeters in deep drilling. However, the birth and implementation of these networks took some time. If we think, for example, of the GPS network, measurements are only available since 1994, and until 2000 they were carried out through measurement campaigns not continuously, which resulted in the loss of a large number of information in space-time. Starting from 2000, the GPS network of Etna has been progressively implemented with permanent stations that allow today the measurement of soil deformations in a continuous way ». Viccaro adds: “The infrasonic and broadband seismic networks have also had a progressive development path, with which it is possible to record a great variety of seismic-volcanic signals continuously, such as infrasonic events, volcanic tremor, long / very long period (LP / VLP) and volcano-tectonic earthquakes, all signals closely related to the dynamics of fluids moving at different depths within the volcano ».

The hi-tech tools

But that is not all. Etna is a treasure trove of hi-tech instruments. Viccaro argues: «Other INGV geophysical monitoring networks installed on Etna are based instead on magnetic and gravity variations, suitable for tracing the movements and variations of masses – essentially magmatic fluids – in the subsoil. Equally important are the INGV networks dedicated to the geochemical monitoring of volatile components in gases – mainly CO 2 and SO 2 – with both direct and remote sensing data acquisition methods. These data are a very powerful tool as they are able to provide well in advance information on the ascents of the magma from the depths, even months before the occurrence of an eruption ». Viccaro comments: “Today we therefore have a ground network that is truly a flagship worldwide but, not satisfied, we are increasingly” looking “at the volcano from above, see in this regard the monitoring techniques UAV or data that can be acquired through various types of satellite images ».

October 20, 2021 (change October 20, 2021 | 18:29)

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