Operational integration of space borne measurements of Lava discharge rates and Sulphur Dioxide concentrations for Global Volcano Monitoring

We present the rationale and the main initial achievements of the operational prototype of the first multi-method system for the realtime, unsupervised, quantitative monitoring of masses erupted simultaneously at all active volcanoes in Europe, Africa, the Eastern Antilles and the ocean islands. The system is structured as a multi-pole, geographically distributed system, where raw datasets from space payloads SEVIRI, MODIS, GOME-2, IASI and OMI are acquired at four downlink stations, distributed to, and automatically processed at six locations in four European nations, then returned to a central post-processor for real-time alert and Wide Area Network display. This architecture is aimed at optimizing quality and timeliness of the advanced methods run within it, and to let the inherent technical knowledge remain with inventors without concern for individual intellectual property. Before entering operations early in 2012, the system underwent extensive testing in 2011 during the major eruptions of Nabro (Eritrea) and Nyamulagira (DR Congo), which are presented here.