Author: improve

27-29 March 2023

The Second Specialized Short Course on Volcano Geodesy was held at the School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol (UK) at the end of March. It was organized by Prof. Joachim Gottsmann, and attended by 8 IMPROVE ESRs plus 8 external students.

The course focussed on techniques for monitoring volcano deformation, including ground-based and satellite-based methods, as well as on data interpretation using mathematical modeling and both forward and inverse approaches. The participants were introduced to increasingly complex approaches from analytical to numerical computation and analogue experiments of volcano deformation, and could analyse and test themselves the relevance of different assumptions on crustal mechanics and rheology in determining ground deformation at active volcanoes.

A two-day field trip on November 9-10, 2022, brought the IMPROVE researchers to meeting the Neapolitan volcanoes. Led by Sandro de Vita with the precious support by Domenico Sparice, the field trip developed on Vesuvius first, then on Campi Flegrei. The leading team by the INGV – Osservatorio Vesuviano illustrated the structure, composition, behavior, and volcanic products of these two nearby still different volcanoes – Vesuvius being a quiescent stratovolcano with a summit caldera, and Campi Flegrei a large caldera which has been in a state of unrest during last decades, and from where some of the largest eruptions ever in the Mediterranean and European regions originated. A lesson in the field at the Solfatara crater by Stefano Caliro illustrated the characteristics of the degassing in the area and the reconstructed underground degassing structure. Finally, the Director of the Osservatorio Vesuviano, Mauro Di Vito, kindly introduced the IMPROVE researchers to the modern 24/7 Operational Room where the data from four continuously monitored volcanoes are collected and analyzed.

The first network school of the IMPROVE Consortium was held in Laugar, Reykjadalur, in North Iceland, about 30 km west of Krafla on June 11-16, 2022.  The school was a joint venture between IMPROVE and the Nordic Volcanological Center at the Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Iceland. It was attended by 29 young researchers, including all 14 IMPROVE ESRs that had already been appointed, together with 15 other participants from outside of the consortium. The participants are residents of 10 different countries in Europe (Iceland 8, Italy 7, Germany 3, UK 3, Ireland 2, Finland 2, France 1, Spain 1, Denmark 1 and Switzerland 1), and have nationalities spanning from China to US. The majority of participants are presently doing a PhD at their universities, while a few postdoctoral fellows took part as well.

The school focused on the following content:

• Science and technology: geothermal areas, fluid physics and chemistry, fluid flow circulation.
• Transferable/soft skills: meeting presentation, public speaking.
• Non-academic contribution: geothermal exploration, industry-oriented science developments, environmental impact and public perception (LV).

Emphasis was put on addressing the main aspects of young igneous geothermal systems and the links between magma and hydrothermal circulation in volcanic settings, and the methods of geophysics, geochemistry and geological mapping used to study such systems, including various aspects of geothermal exploration. Emphasis was placed on Krafla. Environmental and societal aspects of geothermal utilization were also addressed. Future perspectives were explored with strong input from experts in the geothermal industry, from the two largest companies in geothermal utilization in Iceland: Landsvirkun (LV) and Reykjavík Energy. The school was planned by UI. Members of the organizing committee were Magnús T. Gudmundsson, Freysteinn Sigmundsson, Halldór Geirsson and Rikke Pedersen (NordVulk).  Additional input came from INGV and other members of the consortium.  A five-day program was developed, with about 40% of the time dedicated to lectures, 35% to fieldtrips, and 25% to exercises, active discussion sessions and poster presentations by participants.