3:35 PM - 3:50 PM
[MTT38-01] Monitoring Platform for Sakurajima Eruption Clouds -A new stage-
Keywords:Sakurajima Volcanic eruption, Eruption column, Pylocrastic material, Remote sensing
Until now, various universities and research institutes have been monitoring the Sakurajima eruption plume using observation instruments suitable for their respective purposes. However, the observations were not necessarily coordinated. Therefore, Maki et al. (2022) proposed a collaboration of research institutes on the “Platform for Sakurajima Eruption Clouds Monitoring”.
The means and equipment used for the platform include ground sampling, disdrometers, vibration meters, surveillance cameras, drones, and radar. From the viewpoint of immediacy and spatial spread, radar is one of the most powerful instruments for the platforms. Maki et al. (2023a) defined radar multisensing as a method for quantitatively and continuously observing phenomena associated with volcanic eruptions, using various types of radar (see Fig. 1). Multi-sensing targets include explosions, plumes and plumes, pyroclastic flows, and the descent of pyroclastic materials (volcanic ash, volcanic gravel, volcanic rock masses).
Since radar multi-sensing is an important observation instrument in the volcanic plume platform, a joint research project (FY2023~FY2024) on its use has been carried out by Kagoshima University and the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University. One of the results of joint research is the development of a multi-sensing simulator (Kobori et al., 2025). Although the multi-sensing simulator is a prototype, it proposes an optimal observation mode for plume columns and falling pyroclastic materials, using one or more radars. Another achievement was the start of a volunteer collaboration, between 17 researchers from different fields of specialization and 11 universities and research institutes, to build a platform.
Collaboration between universities and research institutes, through the publication of observation data, was carried out as part of the project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology project ‘Integrated Program for Next Generation Volcano Research and Human Resource Development (INeVRH)’ Next Generation Volcano Research Project. Specifically, the observation results of past Sakurajima eruptions are published on the website ‘VASH’ (Maki et al., 2023b). This includes marine radar (Kagoshima University, Kohden Works, Hokkaido University, FRS), small X-band MP radar (DPRI/Kyoto University), X-band MP radar (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), Ka-band Doppler radar (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention), and time-lapse camera images (Kumamoto University. In addition, the information published on VASH is provided to the Japan Volcanological Data Network (JVDN), which is part of the INeVRH Project.
In 2025, four solid-state ship radars will be introduced to the Sakurajima Plume Monitoring Platform for the purpose of volcanic disaster prevention. Some significant features of this radar system are that it can perform synchronized observations with an accuracy of 0.1 seconds, and that the observation results can be distributed on the cloud in real time. If it becomes possible to perform real-time analyses of data from other radars, such as small XMP radar (DPRI/Kyoto Uiniv.) and operational XMP radar(Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), it will be possible to provide users with the near real time deliver of eruption source parameters such as eruption time, ash plume height, and ejection rate, and so on. The Eruption Monitoring Platform has entered a new stage in terms of volcanic disaster prevention.
Acknowledgments: We received grants from JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Subject 22K03760), DPTI/Kyoto University, and the Project for Next-Generation Volcano Research and Human Resource Development (JPJ005391) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The means and equipment used for the platform include ground sampling, disdrometers, vibration meters, surveillance cameras, drones, and radar. From the viewpoint of immediacy and spatial spread, radar is one of the most powerful instruments for the platforms. Maki et al. (2023a) defined radar multisensing as a method for quantitatively and continuously observing phenomena associated with volcanic eruptions, using various types of radar (see Fig. 1). Multi-sensing targets include explosions, plumes and plumes, pyroclastic flows, and the descent of pyroclastic materials (volcanic ash, volcanic gravel, volcanic rock masses).
Since radar multi-sensing is an important observation instrument in the volcanic plume platform, a joint research project (FY2023~FY2024) on its use has been carried out by Kagoshima University and the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University. One of the results of joint research is the development of a multi-sensing simulator (Kobori et al., 2025). Although the multi-sensing simulator is a prototype, it proposes an optimal observation mode for plume columns and falling pyroclastic materials, using one or more radars. Another achievement was the start of a volunteer collaboration, between 17 researchers from different fields of specialization and 11 universities and research institutes, to build a platform.
Collaboration between universities and research institutes, through the publication of observation data, was carried out as part of the project of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology project ‘Integrated Program for Next Generation Volcano Research and Human Resource Development (INeVRH)’ Next Generation Volcano Research Project. Specifically, the observation results of past Sakurajima eruptions are published on the website ‘VASH’ (Maki et al., 2023b). This includes marine radar (Kagoshima University, Kohden Works, Hokkaido University, FRS), small X-band MP radar (DPRI/Kyoto University), X-band MP radar (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), Ka-band Doppler radar (National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention), and time-lapse camera images (Kumamoto University. In addition, the information published on VASH is provided to the Japan Volcanological Data Network (JVDN), which is part of the INeVRH Project.
In 2025, four solid-state ship radars will be introduced to the Sakurajima Plume Monitoring Platform for the purpose of volcanic disaster prevention. Some significant features of this radar system are that it can perform synchronized observations with an accuracy of 0.1 seconds, and that the observation results can be distributed on the cloud in real time. If it becomes possible to perform real-time analyses of data from other radars, such as small XMP radar (DPRI/Kyoto Uiniv.) and operational XMP radar(Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism), it will be possible to provide users with the near real time deliver of eruption source parameters such as eruption time, ash plume height, and ejection rate, and so on. The Eruption Monitoring Platform has entered a new stage in terms of volcanic disaster prevention.
Acknowledgments: We received grants from JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Subject 22K03760), DPTI/Kyoto University, and the Project for Next-Generation Volcano Research and Human Resource Development (JPJ005391) of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.