SKATE Enhances Volcano Monitoring Safety

When hundreds of volcanologists gathered in Geneva last July for the largest volcanology conferencethat of Italy National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology (INGV) attracted particular attention. INGV presented results fruit of five years of very close observations of Stromboli, one of the most monitored volcanoes in the Mediterranean. Its frequent small eruptions make it both a natural laboratory for volcanologists and a constant safety concern for the island’s approximately 500 residents and thousands of tourists.

The last three years of close observations have been made possible by a portable observatory called Setup for the Kinematic Acquisition of Explosive Eruptions, or SKATE. The suitcase-sized system is packed with technology that captures eruptions at hundreds of frames per second, synchronously recording their roar and heat.

Filming and analyzing an explosive eruption up close for hours, while capturing data on its heat, sound and movement, has always been tricky and dangerous. But it’s the data scientists need to understand how eruptions work and change over time. SKATE makes this process both safer and simpler by autonomously recording synchronized streams of observatory data and minimizing the time researchers must spend on the slopes of a volcano.

“Explosive eruptions are extremely rapid processes with particles the size of a truck or a grain of dust that can travel from a few meters per second up to supersonic speeds,” explains Jacopo Taddeucciprincipal researcher at the INGV. “You need cameras shooting hundreds of frames per second and instruments that can see, hear and feel the eruption at the same time to understand cause and effect.”

In addition to Stromboli, SKATE was tested on neighboring grounds Mount Etnaas well as on The Fuego of Guatemala And Santiaguito Volcanoes. Global, 500 million people live near active volcanoes, many of which are ] without any monitoring system. INGV is now planning deployments on other volcanoes, including Mount Yasur in Vanuatu, known as the “Lighthouse of the Pacific” for its near-continuous eruptions characterized by rhythmic bursts of lava and incandescent gas.

SKATE’s innovative volcanology technology

SKATE was assembled by Technological Equipment Engineering Solutions (TEES), an Italian manufacturer of custom scientific instruments and Dewesofta Slovenian company specializing in high-speed data acquisition and measurement systems. The two companies followed INGV’s specifications to package an entire observatory in a rigid polypropylene shell with a budget of €50,000 (approximately US$58,000).

SKATE is the simplified successor to a previous INGV prototype known as FAMoUS (Fast Multiparametric Setup), which for the first time demonstrated the value of combining high-speed, thermal and acoustic sensors. But it also had serious drawbacks: it was heavy and bulky, took a long time to install on site, and required manual triggering, forcing researchers to spend hours in dangerous areas to capture just a handful of footage.

SKATE is more portable and easier to deploy than its predecessor, a system called FAMoUS.Piergiorgio Scarlato and Jacopo Taddeucci

Inside SKATE, a waterproof computer coordinates a thermal camera recording at 32 frames per second, and a high speed camera which records bursts of images when it detects sudden temperature spikes. In fact, continuous 4K video capture would quickly overwhelm SKATE’s data storage, as a single day of 4K recording would require 100 times more memory than SKATE has.

“The real challenge wasn’t plugging in cameras and sensors,” says Alessia Longo, an engineer at Dewesoft. “This required them to write to a single, perfectly synchronized file and control the data flow. »

This data is stored on two SSDs with a total capacity of up to 6 terabytes, and the system operates autonomously for a full day in good weather, relying on solar panels and replaceable batteries.

“A volcanologist’s creativity lies in their ability to take technologies developed for other industries, such as high-speed cameras used in sporting events or military thermal cameras, and adapt them to scientific research on active volcanoes,” explains Piergiorgio Scarlatoresearch director at the INGV.

Modular design improves volcano monitoring

Located between 300 and 900 meters from the active vents of Stromboli, SKATE works almost by itself. The researchers only travel once a day to exchange batteries and memory cards.

The design is also modular. Alongside thermal, rapid and acoustic sensors, INGV is currently testing SKATE with a UV camera to quantify sulfur dioxide emissions. He is also testing a laser rangefinder that provides distances to the volcano’s plume or crater rim, or moving slopes ten times per second. It can also provide analysis of individual lava bombs and rock fragments ejected during eruptions, enabling precise reconstructions of their trajectories and landing zones.

“Depth is what turns a dramatic image into measurement,” says Scarlato. “By understanding how volcanic projectiles are launched, how far they travel and where they fall, we can better assess the impact of eruptions on people, infrastructure and the environment.”

On Stromboli, the INGV team analyzed more than a thousand explosions recorded between 2019 and 2024, matching high-speed video, temperatures and sound. Each vent, they discovered, develops its own personality: Gas-rich jets sound quieter and linger longer, while volcanic bombs (chunks of lava thrown up during an eruption) and ash-rich explosions roar briefly and throw incandescent fragments higher into the air.

The role of SKATE in the analysis of volcanic data

SKATE is not a 24/7 alarm. It’s too complex and too data intensive to broadcast in real time from the edge of a crater. Instead, it helps fixed monitoring networks located farther away from the crater, such as thermal cameras, infrasound arrays and other instruments, better understand their signals.

A researcher uses SKATE to monitor a volcano.Piergiorgio Scarlato and Jacopo Taddeucci

SKATE data helps scientists test hypotheses about how gas bubbles rise and burst inside magma, how volcanic conduits are formed, and studying underground processes that ordinary monitoring cannot see. INGV aims to turn certain recurring patterns into reference libraries that could train automated systems to recognize warning signs in live data streams.

SKATE’s success is changing the way volcanologists monitor active volcanoes for warning signs. But volcanoes will never be truly predictable or safe environments. Moisture often corrodes cables and fogs camera lenses. During a recent deployment, a goat ate the microphone cable. And in a recent study of Stromboli, INGV experimented with a new high-speed black-and-white sensor, ideal for tracking light bombs at night, which proved trickier than expected because Stromboli’s bursts last only a few seconds and make it difficult to focus the sensor on them.

Despite the obstacles, the rapid and detailed data provided by SKATE is welcome. “Working in such extreme conditions, with humidity, gases and sudden temperature changes, is the real test for any technology,” explains Scarlato. “The difference now is that our interventions last a few minutes and no longer hours. »