Deep learning artificial intelligence keeps an eye on volcano movements

Now, Penn State researchers have used artificial intelligence (AI) to clear up that noise, drastically facilitating and improving near real-time observation of volcanic movements and the detection of volcanic activity and unrest. "The shape of volcanoes is constantly changing and much of that change is due to underground magma movements in the magma plumbing system made of magma reservoirs and conduits," said Christelle Wauthier, associate professor of geosciences and Institute for Data and Computational Sciences (ICDS) faculty fellow. "Much of this movement is subtle and cannot be picked up by the naked eye." Geoscientists have used several methods to measure the ground changes around volcanoes and other areas of seismic activity, but all have limitations, said Jian Sun, lead author of the paper and a postdoctoral scholar in geosciences, funded by Dean's Postdoc-Facilitated Innovation through Collaboration Award from the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences. He added that, for example, scientists can use ground stations, such as GPS or tiltmeters, to monitor possible ground movement due to volcanic activity.