LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand The primary and secondary effects of a volcanic eruption. The immediate and long term responses to a volcanic eruption. How volcanoes can be monitored and predicted.

 Tiltmeters are electronic spirit levels which send a radio signal every few minutes so giving real-time measurement of localised ground deformation. They are most useful in the near-field (close to a centre of eruptive activity), for instance on the crater rim where they are used to monitor pressurisation of the dome.

 Ground deformation monitoring using Global Positioning System (GPS) techniques has been the most important method used at the Montserrat Volcano Observatory. Using a constellation of satellites and radio waves, the position of a fixed pin on the flank of the volcano can be measured to within a few millimetres in just a few minutes.

 Both magma movement, changes in gas release and hydrothermal activity can lead to thermal emissivity changes at the volcano's surface

 As magma rises towards the surface volcanic gases such as sulfur and methane are released. The exact quantities of these are an indication of magmatic activity beneath the volcano and can lead to a better understanding of when a volcano may erupt.