Mvrrs Campaign: Mivis Mission on Sicilian Volcanoes and Ground Measurements

Riassunto

[Text available only in Italian]
The MVRRS (Mitigation of Volcanic Risk by Remote Sensing techniques) project lead by the Open University (U.K.) is devoted to the development and application of modern remote sensing techniques to the mitigation of volcanic risk on European volcanoes, using existing and future spaceborne and airborne platforms. The primary objective is dictated by two considerations: First, the rapid developments in remote sensing science in recent years and the numerous sophisticated sensors planned for the near future provide powerful new tools for monitoring volcanoes. Second, the increasing population densities and technological complexity of volcanic regions in Europe dictate that the potential risks of any eruption are also increasing. These risks range from the loss of aircraft through encountering eruption plumes to the loss of tourist revenues should an eruption threaten a resort location. In the next few years, many new sensors will be placed in orbit by the American, Japanese, and European space agencies. NASA, for example, is committed to its multi-platform Earth Observing System (EOS) with complementary data dissemination system (EOSDIS). These developments will vastly expand the capabilities to gather Earth Observation data across the whole of the electromagnetic spectrum, so it is essential that we in Europe develop the expertise necessary to benefit from this data stream. Most satellite sensors are designed for non-volcanic applications. Those with the high est spatial resolutions have poorer temporal resolutions, and their data can be prohibitively expensive for routine use. The most readily available data are from low-resolution meteorological satellites. Clearly the low spatial resolution of these data prevent or reduce, in many cases, the detection of tropospheric volcanic plumes, therefore an important underlying objective is to use the insights gained from high-resolution, low frequency airborne and satellite data to develop the best and most cost-effective volcanological applications of lower resolution, higher frequency weather satellite data. The project is focused on the study of eruption plumes which range from persistent low intensity emissions of steam and acid gases to infrequent injections of ash into the atmosphere. A number of detailed studies of eruption clouds have been made in recent years. These studies demonstrate the full potential of remote sensing techniques, but have focused mainly on major...