NASA scientists believe that it may be possible to predict when a volcano will erupt by using satellites to track changes in the color of surrounding trees.
Before the volcano erupts, they begin to infiltrate carbon dioxide. This is a queue that people living nearby should evacuate. In December 2017, when carbon dioxide levels began to rise around Mayon volcano in the Philippines, authorities warned the public. More than 56,000 people were evacuated and no single life was lost after the volcano exploded in January.
The challenge is that many volcanoes are so far away that setting up monitoring equipment on the premises is costly, challenging and potentially dangerous, and the amount of carbon dioxide permeated by the volcano is too small to detect by satellites. However, scientists have discovered that even small amounts of carbon dioxide can affect the growth of nearby trees, leaving leaves greener and lush, and that these changes can be seen from space.
recently study A link was found between the color of the tree and the amount of carbon dioxide issued from Mount Etna, an active volcano in Italy, as shown in the satellite image. Currently, NASA is studying tree changes around Costa Rica’s Rincon de Lavieja volcano, hoping to better predict eruptions.
Experts already have other prediction tools. Before the eruption, as magma rises below the surface, the ground around the volcano is blown away, and a small tremor suggests a disaster is imminent. Recent research has shown that glaciers above volcanoes flow faster when the earth heats up. Greening provides another clue.
“There’s no one signal that’s a silver bullet from the volcano.” The NASA volcanologist said Florian Schwandner. “And tracking the effects of volcanic carbon dioxide on trees isn’t a silver bullet. But it’s something that could change the game.”
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