SPACE-BASED MONITORING UNCOVERS VOLCANO ACTIVITY ON EARTH AND BEYOND

Michael Ramsey

As a geologist, Michael Ramsey, professor of volcanology and planetary science in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences, studies volcanoes to understand their behavior and minimize risks for people living nearby. Using his background as an engineer, he has developed unique instruments that allow him to gather data in the field, in the lab and from about 400 miles above ground, on satellites in low-Earth orbit. 

“My work has involved space since my days as a first-year graduate student,” Ramsey says. His very first grant as a principal investigator was funded by NASA, and nearly 30 years later, so are his four most recent research projects. 

The importance of space across disciplines as different as geology, astronomy, manufacturing or medicine, was a motivation for Ramsey to join with researchers from other disciplines in an effort to bolster Pitt’s commitment to space-based research. 

Ramsey has gathered data using satellites pointing away from Earth, too. He has analyzed images of Mars, the Moon and, as part of a recent project, is using computer modeling to review historical data of lava flows from Venus. The results should help illuminate how long eruptions take if Venus is in fact still volcanically active. 

NASA has two missions to Venus, sometimes called “Earth’s twin,” planned by 2030. “We’re trying to give them a feel for what’s actually going on there,” Ramsey says. “For planetary science, satellite data are typically the only data we get.”

Space-based observation is also important for learning about volcanoes on Earth. From orbital data, Ramsey can get a large-scale view of an entire system. Most volcanoes are not monitored on the ground 24/7, so data from space can provide people living nearby with the first hint that something is stirring.

Still, Ramsey also collects data from the ground. He and his team have developed specialty thermal infrared cameras, the latest of which will collect data from volcanoes emitting different amounts of ash and gases. The data will be used as ground truth against which upcoming NASA satellite observations can be tested and refined and to better understand the ongoing eruptive processes at these active volcanoes.

“Space-based data are safer than going into the field, are usually free and are repetitive,” Ramsey says. “The marriage of both ground and space data is ideal.”