The Soufriere Hills Volcano

Four huge holes in the Soufriere Hills Volcano help scientists monitor its activity, like the tremendous eruption in 2003 when its top blew off.

The volcano, on the island of Montserrat in the West Indies, has erupted on and off since July 1995. These images show the lava dome in May, 2003 prior to a colossal collapse. The bottom image shows the same volcano on Aug. 12, 2003.

The CALIPSO project (Caribbean Andesite Lava Island Precision Seismo-geodetic Observatory) involves four bore holes, each 600-foot deep and 4.5 inches in diameter. The width of the last 30 feet is a bit narrower so the equipment is bonded to the surrounding rock. Each bore hole houses a super-sensitive strain meter, a seismometer and a tiltmeter.

"The ground is a 100-times quieter down there than at the surface," says Barry Voight, professor of geosciences at Penn State. "We can record smaller events and deeper events than would be possible on the noisy ground surface, and we can record measurements continuously all day long."

The active magma reservoir system may extend to a depth of 10 miles, with its top about 3.5 miles deep. The researchers hope they will be able to measure the position, size and shape of the existing magma reservoir, the quantity of new magma inflow and the physical characteristics of the magma. They also hope to learn more about the earthquake mechanics associated with the dynamic volcanic system.

The research was discussed last month at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union.

-- LiveScience Staff

Photo Credit: Montserrat Volcano Observatory/British Geological Survey