借助現(xiàn)代傳感器技術(shù)監(jiān)測火山氣體數(shù)據(jù)，對于了解火山爆發(fā)的原因至關(guān)重要。但對科研工作者來說，靠近火山開展科研，是一項非常危險的工作，也會給后勤運輸帶來很大挑戰(zhàn)。目前，借助無人機(jī)技術(shù)，國外研究人員已能高效地將檢測裝置部署到位，不但能把風(fēng)險降到最低，而且也能提高傳感器數(shù)據(jù)的收集效率。下面是兩則與此相關(guān)的應(yīng)用案例。
英國布里斯托爾大學(xué)2018年9月7日稱，該校研究團(tuán)隊開發(fā)出一種輕量級火山活動情況監(jiān)測裝置，這種精密儀器，不但能在火山的嚴(yán)酷環(huán)境中持續(xù)工作，且可由無人機(jī)搭載，從而避免人員遇險。
這一新裝置被稱為“龍之蛋”，小巧輕便，內(nèi)部配備了能對溫度、濕度、震動，及多種有毒氣體進(jìn)行實時監(jiān)測的傳感器。由于整個裝置重量控制較好，研究人員可直接用無人機(jī)把它放置在火山口附近。裝置能將收集到的數(shù)據(jù)，傳回遠(yuǎn)處的工作站，進(jìn)行火山災(zāi)害評估。
更重要的是，這個裝置通常處于節(jié)電狀態(tài)，直到其中一個特殊的探測器，感測到火山活動帶來的震動時，才會喚醒其他探測器和傳感器，使整個裝置進(jìn)入全面工作狀態(tài)。這類特殊探測器所需能量很少，目前已在意大利一座火山上開展過實地測試。
研究團(tuán)隊表示，這種裝置仍需進(jìn)一步開發(fā)，未來有望在冰川觀測、核廢料儲存設(shè)施安全檢測等場景中發(fā)揮作用。
在世界上，每年大約有50到60個活火山發(fā)生大爆發(fā)，造成的健康和經(jīng)濟(jì)風(fēng)險涉及10億人，其中便包括對于氣候和航空的危害。比如，2018年1月下旬，菲律賓馬榮火山爆發(fā)，超過7萬人安全撤離。這一重要通知，便是監(jiān)測部門基于事故發(fā)生前兆而進(jìn)行的及時通報。二氧化碳增加排放量是火山正在恢復(fù)和可能爆發(fā)的最早指標(biāo)之一，但在很多火山上，尤其是在熱帶地區(qū)，很難將這些儀器放在火山上。
為更好地了解火山活動及帶來的后果，提高火山噴發(fā)的規(guī)劃和預(yù)警能力，2018年1月，美國國家航空航天局實驗室（NASA）便與該國企業(yè)合作，希望通過測量和監(jiān)測火山口噴發(fā)的氣體，更好地了解火山活動及其后果，并提高火山噴發(fā)的規(guī)劃和預(yù)警能力。
該項目在哥斯達(dá)黎加進(jìn)行，采用了一款名為Black Swift S2的小型無人機(jī)系統(tǒng)，可通過無人機(jī)飛越活火山附近森林冠層，捕獲空中的二氧化碳含量來測量數(shù)據(jù)，從而更準(zhǔn)確地測量存在于從通風(fēng)口、包括被樹冠遮蔽的火山范圍內(nèi)釋放的氣體化合物，以幫助量化火山的生命周期。
據(jù)了解，這款無人機(jī)配備了測量火山噴發(fā)過程中能感應(yīng)二氧化碳和水蒸汽的傳感器。未來，該無人機(jī)系統(tǒng)還可包含可測量甲烷、硫化氫和二氧化硫的傳感器，用于評估火山顆粒大小和分布的濁度計，以及用于分析壓力，溫度，濕度和三維風(fēng)向的大氣探頭。
相關(guān)研究證明，二氧化碳的排放水平，可用來測量和預(yù)測火山爆發(fā)的風(fēng)險。從火山噴口和裂縫，噴氣孔和擴(kuò)散側(cè)翼排放物釋放到大氣中的氣體濃度增加表明爆發(fā)的可能性更高。通過研究這種氣體混合物的組成并監(jiān)測其組成的波動，科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)他們可以更好地預(yù)測火山爆發(fā)的可能性。
Monitoring volcanic gas data with modern sensor technology is crucial to understanding the causes of volcanic eruptions. But for scientists, being close to a volcano can be dangerous work and poses logistical challenges. Currently, with the help of unmanned aerial vehicle technology, foreign researchers have been able to deploy detection devices efficiently, not only minimizing risks, but also improving the efficiency of sensor data collection. Here are two related application cases.
The university of Bristol said on September 7, 2018 that a team of researchers at the university of Bristol has developed a lightweight volcano monitoring device that can work continuously in the harsh conditions of a volcano.
The new device, called dragon's egg, is small and lightweight, equipped with sensors that can monitor temperature, humidity, vibrations and a variety of toxic gases in real time. Because the device is weight-controlled, researchers can place it directly near the crater using drones. The device can transmit the collected data back to remote workstations for assessment of volcanic hazards.
What's more, the device is usually in a power-saving state until one of the special detectors senses the vibrations of volcanic activity and wakes up the other detectors and sensors, bringing the whole thing into full operation. The special detectors, which require little energy, have been tested on a volcano in Italy.
The team said the device still needs to be developed and could play a role in future scenarios such as glacier observations and safety inspections of nuclear waste storage facilities.
Each year, about 50 to 60 active volcanoes erupt in the world, causing health and economic risks for 1 billion people, including climate and aviation hazards. For example, in late January 2018, the mayon volcano in the Philippines erupted and more than 70,000 people were evacuated. This important notice is the monitoring department based on the accident warning and timely notification. Increased emissions of carbon dioxide are one of the earliest indicators that volcanoes are recovering and may erupt, but on many volcanoes, especially in the tropics, it is difficult to put these instruments on volcanoes.
For a better understanding of volcanic activity and the consequences of, improve the planning and early warning ability of volcanic eruption, in January 2018, the United States national aeronautics and space administration (NASA) laboratory and enterprise cooperation, hope through the gas measuring and monitoring the volcano eruption, a better understanding of volcanic activity and its consequences, and improve the planning and early warning ability of volcanic eruption.
The project conducted in costa rica, adopted a small unmanned aircraft system, called Black Swift S2 by drones flying over active volcano near the forest canopy, capture the carbon dioxide content of the air to measure data, so as to more accurately measure exists in from within the scope of volcanic vents, including the crown cover releasing gas compounds, to help quantify the life cycle of the volcano.
The drone is equipped with sensors that measure carbon dioxide and water vapor as the volcano erupts. In the future, the uas will also include sensors to measure methane, hydrogen sulfide and sulfur dioxide, turbidimeters to assess the size and distribution of volcanic particles, and atmospheric probes to analyze pressure, temperature, humidity and three-dimensional wind direction.
Studies have shown that levels of carbon dioxide emissions can be used to measure and predict the risk of volcanic eruptions. Increased concentrations of gases released into the atmosphere from volcanic vents and fissures, vents, and diffused flanks indicate a higher probability of eruptions. By studying the composition of the gas mixture and monitoring its fluctuations, scientists have found they can better predict the likelihood of a volcanic eruption.