MVO and The University of The West Indies recently published a new book, Island of Fire: The Natural Spectacle of the Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat.

Described as “more than a ‘coffee-table book’” by Dr. John Pallister of the USGS, Island of Fire is a compilation of spectacular full-page photographs and captions detailing volcanic activity, scientific work, and the devastating effects of the volcano over the past 15 years. Montserrat’s own Sir Howard Fergus calls this book a “gripping collection of photographs of a mountain on fire” and that it “depicts the multiple moods and colours of the mountain and its environs and the baleful effects of the eruption on people and places.”

Island of Fire was edited by MVO staff members Henry Odbert, Paul Cole, and Adam Stinton. The magnificent images inside the book were taken by staff and colleagues of the observatory and include extended captions written by the scientists.

The book will be launched officially at MVO this Friday, October 14 and in Trinidad on Tuesday, October 18.

Island of Fire is currently available for purchase at MVO and online here.

A new broadband seismometer has been installed at the Windy Hill seismic station, 3 km north of the volcano.

The location of the seismic station is not new; it was one of the first installed in early days of the eruption in the mid 1990s. However, the equipment at this seismic station had not been working properly since the lightning strike several weeks ago and so was replaced by this new instrument.

Seismometers measure the motion of the ground from earthquakes. MVO is concerned with earthquakes and other seismic signals related to volcanism, such as Volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes, long-period earthquakes, and rockfalls.  Seismometers are able to record some events that are not strong enough to be felt by people. Depending on how strong an earthquake is, it may be recorded by all the seismometers or only by some of the seismometers near the volcano. At this time there are 12 stations in the seismic network on the island.

Seismometers are composed of a mass, a coil, and a frame for the coil and mass. During an earthquake, the mass and the frame can move relative to each other and the electronics of the seismometer records the ground motion due to the earthquake as a voltage proportional to the velocity. This voltage is converted to digital data and linked to a Global Positioning System (GPS) device to get the exact timing of the signal. The seismometer at Windy Hill is consists of three components, so that motion in any direction is able to be recorded. Additionally, because the seismometer is a broadband instrument, it is able to record earthquakes signals across a wide range of frequencies. Together these components measure the exact time and velocity of ground motion in all directions. This data is sent back to MVO for real-time monitoring of the seismic activity at all the stations in operation around the volcano.

Yesterday MVO staffmembers Thomas Christopher and Pyiko Williams reinstalled a Multisensor Gas Analyzer System (MultiGAS), which measures the absolute ratios of CO₂, H₂O, H₂S, and SO₂.MVO’s MultiGAS has been out of commission since May 12 when one of its sensors failed and has until now been undergoing repair in Italy.

Having this instrument once again in operation is an important and exciting step for the monitoring of Soufriere Hills volcano. One reason is that where most of MVO’s gas monitoring techniques measure the amount of only one type of gas (species) at a time, MultiGAS measures the absolute ratios of four different gas species. Other gas monitoring techniques for multiple species require a substantial amount of time for analysis in a laboratory. Because MultiGAS analyzes data itself and sends it back to MVO, we can know the relative amounts of gases can occur more quickly. To get this chemical information, the system must be inside the actual volcanic gas plume where it routinely gathers and analyzes gas samples. The system was installed to the west of the volcano (where the plume usually goes) at Upper Spring Estate on the western flank of Chance’s Peak. MultiGAS collects data for 45 minutes, purges the system for 15 minutes, shuts down, and then begins again after another 4 hours.

Changes in the amount of gases relative to one another might have important implications for the monitoring of the volcano. At other volcanoes, such as Stromboli in Italy, an increase in the amount of CO₂ has been seen before eruptions. It is not yet known whether Soufriere Hills Volcano will behave in the same way, but continued monitoring and analysis might tell us if CO₂ abundance is an important indicator of possible future activity. Additionally, knowing the relative amount of SO₂ and H₂S might provide information about the behaviour of the volcano. Chemical conditions of the magma, such as redox conditions, control the relative amounts of SO₂ and H₂S that can form. Measuring the relative amounts of these two gases at the volcano’s surface might then provide information about what is going on with the magma beneath the volcano’s surface.

MVO suffered a serious lightning strike to the communications radio tower on Saturday, September 17.

The MVO radio tower is responsible for receiving monitoring data from field stations around Soufriere Hills Volcano at MVO. This data includes seismic data, ground deformation data, and information on the gases emitted by the volcano.

Power surges from the lightning strike destroyed several pieces of electronics equipment, including data radios, computers and servers. The damage from the lightning strike is estimated to have totalled to around 10,000 USD. MVO staff worked through the weekend to restore systems and the most essential monitoring equipment has now been reinstated owing to spare parts held at MVO. However considerable work still remains to be done before all monitoring systems are restored.

The new sites will extend the existing Global Positioning System (GPS) monitoring network to thirteen continuously-operating stations. The type of equipment that has been installed is used to measure precisely small displacements on the surface of the volcano. By combining data from our network and applying precise satellite corrections, we are able to measure a daily-average position at each site to within a few millimetres. Over time, these measurements tell us whether or not the flanks of the volcano are deforming in response to pressure changes underground. Since 1995, deformation has been measured on Soufriere Hills Volcano; either as ‘inflation’ during times of no lava extrusion or, when lava is...

Read more: New monitoring site

In May 2011 NDPRAC approved adjustments to the Hazard Zone boundaries. The changes were related to the Zone A/B boundary in Old Towne, Happy Hill and Lower Friths area. Google Earth files for these updated boundaries and all other Hazard Zones are now available. The .kml file is available for download here. This should enable people to be able to quickly visualise the locations of the different boundaries and locations of properties etc within those boundaries. This is an update from the 2010 Google Earth .kml file for hazard zone boundaries. Please note that this data is provided for information only and the accuracy of the boundaries is limited by the accuracy of Google Earth typically assumed to be accurate to around 10 m. 

click here to download

Read more: Google Earth Files for updated HLS

MVO welcomed two groups on Monday July 4, 2011.

One was from Broadreach and the other from Kentucky State University (KSU), USA. Broad-reach, based in North Carolina, offers a Caribbean archipelago sailing voyage and Montserrat is one of the 15 islands destined for visit. The students took a lot of time looking at MVO's posters which speak to various methods of monitoring the volcano as well as specific points of activity in the volcano's history.

Read more: Group visits on July 4