ABOVE
Overview
This project uses innovative Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) technologies (drones with miniaturized gas-sampling equipment) to collect volcanic gas measurements at Manam and Rabaul volcanoes in Papua New Guinea. These volcanoes are actively degassing, but little is known about them because their plumes are difficult to access using ground-based techniques.
Led by Emma Liu of the University of Cambridge, an international team of volcanologists is deploying multiple drones outfitted with gas sensors, spectrometers, and sampling devices to acquire near-vent measurements of carbon dioxide and other gases. Their measurements will feed into the DECADE project, which aims to quantify the global flux of carbon from volcanoes.

Phase one of the project involves a two-week pilot campaign in October 2018 to work out logistics, secure permits, and develop a flight plan based on observations of the volcanoes. In May 2019, a larger team will return to Papua New Guinea to fly the drones and collect gas emission measurements over three weeks.
The team includes scientists from the UK, Italy, USA, Papua New Guinea, Sweden, Germany, and Costa Rica, uniting several groups working on volcanic aerial gas measurements around the world. Through this work at Papua New Guinea, they hope to optimize methods for data collection using equipped drones, and develop easily adoptable, standardized methods for future field deployments.
Research Questions
- How much carbon dioxide and other gases do Manam and Rabaul volcanoes emit?
- What does the isotopic composition of carbon dioxide tell us about its source?
- Can we integrate data from UAS into databases of ground- and satellite-based observations?
- Can we develop rigorous, internationally accepted protocols for using UAS to collect gas measurements at volcanoes?

Project Leaders
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closeMarie EdmondsUniversity of Cambridge, UK
Dr. Marie Edmonds, a reader in Earth Sciences at the University of Cambridge, is responsible for overall scientific and intellectual oversight of DCO's synthesis and integration activities. She is a mid-career researcher who has built a successful group focused on understanding volatile cycling in the solid Earth. She has a number of leadership roles within the Natural Environment Research Council (the United Kingdom’s primary funding agency) and the Geological Society of London. In addition to serving on DCO’s Executive Committee, Edmonds chairs DCO’s Synthesis Group 2019 and has served as co-chair of the Reservoirs and Fluxes community since November 2014.
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closeAlessandro AiuppaUniversity of Palermo, Italy
Dr. Alessandro Aiuppa is a full professor in the Department of Earth and Sea Sciences of the University of Palermo. He also serves as the coordinator of the PhD program in Earth and Sea Sciences. Aiuppa is a member of the Commission for Major Risks (Volcanic Risk Section) of the Civil Protection (Presidency of the Council of Ministers), and is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. For his research in Volcanic Gas Geochemistry, Aiuppa was awarded a grant in the Call for Ideas ERC-Starting Grant (Project "BRIDGE"; 2012-2015). In 2008, he was awarded the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth Interior (IAVCEI) Wager Medal in 2008 as best under-40 volcanologist. Since 2004, Auippa also has served as a research collaborator at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, where he collaborates in the geochemical monitoring activities of Italian active volcanoes.
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closeTobias FischerUniversity of New Mexico, USA
Dr. Tobias Fischer is a professor of volcanology and director of the Fluids and Volatiles Laboratory at the University of New Mexico. He also chairs the Board of Directors of DCO’s Carbon Observatory Deep Carbon Degassing (DCO-DECADE) international initiative that brings together scientists from about 11 countries to better understand degassing of carbon from active volcanoes and volcanic regions. His research focuses on volcanology with emphasis on active volcanism. He currently conducts research at volcanoes in Central America, the Aleutians, the East African Rift, and Antarctica. Fischer also serves on DCO’s Engagement Advisory Committee.
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closeBrendan McCormick KilbrideUniversity of Manchester, UK
The majority of Brendan’s research has involved the use of satellite remote sensing to study longterm trends in volcanic sulfur dioxide gas emissions, from individual volcanoes and on the regional/global scale. After completing his doctorate at the University of Cambridge (with particular attention to emissions from volcanoes in Papua New Guinea and Ecuador, and the use of the Ozone Monitoring Instrument), Brendan spent two years as a postdoctoral researcher at the Smithsonian Institution Global Volcanism Program, co-funded by the Deep Carbon Observatory. He has undertaken work to reconcile satellite observations of syn-eruptive gas emissions and geodesy as part of the NERC-funded Centre for Observation and Modelling of Earthquakes, Volcanoes and Tectonics. Brendan is currently working on data and samples acquired during a month-long field campaign in September to several volcanoes and geothermal fields in Papua New Guinea.
Participants
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Bo Galle
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
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Santiago Arellano
Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden
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Julian Rudiger
University of Mainz, Germany
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Nicole Bobrowski
University of Mainz, Germany
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Alexandra Gutmann
University of Mainz, Germany
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J. Maarten de Moor
Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica
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Jorge Andres Diaz
University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica
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Alfredo Alan
University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica
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Ernesto Corrales
University of Costa Rica, Costa Rica
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Matthew Watson
University of Bristol, UK
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Gaetano Giudice
INGV, Italy
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Marcello Bitetto
University of Palermo, Italy
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Emily Mason
University of Cambridge, UK
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Simon Carn
Michigan Tech, USA
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Jim Freer
University of Bristol; now at University of Saskatchewan
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Cat Hayer
University of Manchester
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Gustav Gerdes
Chalmers University
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Ian Schipper
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
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Ima Itikarai
Rabaul Volcanological Observatory
Photo Gallery
Photographer Matthew Wordell accompanied the science team to document a ‘behind the scenes’ perspective of what it was like to conduct field research in such a remote and challenging place. Based in Boise, Idaho, his field work photography has afforded a unique opportunity to join international campaigns and offer a glimpse into the challenges, successes, and experiences of working in remote locations.
Contact
Dr. Emma Liu: emma.liu@ucl.ac.uk

Publications
Liu, E.J., Aiuppa, A., Alan, A., Arellano, S., Bitetto, M., Bobrowski, N., Carn, S., Clarke, R., Corrales, E., de Moor, J.M. and Diaz, J.A., 2020. Aerial strategies advance volcanic gas measurements at inaccessible, strongly degassing volcanoes. Science Advances, 6(44), p.eabb9103. Associated press release: https://www.cam.ac.
Wood, K., Liu, E., Richardson, T., Clarke, R., Freer, J., Aiuppa, A., Giudice, G., Bitetto, M., Mulina, K. and Itikarai, I., 2020. BVLOS UAS operations in highly-turbulent volcanic plumes. Frontiers in Robotics and AI, 7, p.136.
Submitted
Galle B., Arellano S., Bobrowski N., Conde V., Fischer TP., Gerdes G, Gutmann A., Hoffmann T., Itikarai I., Krejci T., Liu EJ., Mulina K., Nowicki S., Richardson T., Rüdiger J., Wood K., Xu J. (in review). A multi-purpose, multi-rotor drone system for long range and high-altitude volcanic gas plume measurements. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Updates
The ABOVE expedition film by Zach Voss and photo gallery by Matthew Wordell debuted at "Deep Carbon 2019: Launching the Next Decade of Deep Carbon Science," with both featured at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Washington DC on 24 and 25 October 2019. The photo exhibit will remain at Carnegie's P Street location through the end of the year. You can watch the film here and view the photo gallery here.
DCO ABOVE (Aerial-based Observations of Volcanic Emissions) is the second part of a DCO-funded project to explore volcanic emissions in Papua New Guinea using cutting-edge drone technologies (read more about part one of the project here). Led by Emma Liu of the University of Cambridge, UK, the expedition will see an international team of scientists collaborating with local volcano observatories to investigate these strongly degassing volcanoes.
The team will be in the field throughout May and into early June.
Follow the team’s progress on the DCO Twitter account (@deepcarb), or check the BLOG PAGE for regular updates.
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation approved three grants in October 2018, including Aerial Observations of Volcanic Gas Emissions, that support DCO activities through the end of the decadal program on 31 December 2019. DCO is immensely grateful to the Sloan Foundation for its generous support since 2009. Read more...
The newly funded “Aerial Observations of Volcanic Emissions from Unmanned Aerial Systems” field study, also known as Expedition PNG or #DCOdronesPNG on Twitter, got off to a flying start on Monday, 21 October 2018. Led by Emma Liu of the University of Cambridge, UK, expedition participants are using innovative unmanned aerial system (UAS) technologies (or drones) to collect volcanic gas measurements at Manam and Rabaul Volcanoes in Papua New Guinea. These strongly degassing volcanoes remain largely uncharacterized because their plumes are challenging to access using ground-based techniques.
The team will be in the field through the end of October, returning for three more weeks in the spring of 2019.
Follow the team’s progress on the DCO Twitter account (@deepcarb), or check the blog for short posts from the field.