Currently, Mt. Erebus is monitored by a permanent network of six, single-component 1 Hz seismometers, six three-component, 40-T broadband sensors, seven infrasonic microphones around the crater, some co-located with the summit seismic stations, GPS, infrared sensors, tiltmeters, and video. Stations are powered by gel-cell batteries recharged by solar panels; most stations now operate throughout the Austral winter, thanks to sufficient battery capacity combined with their low power consumption (approximately one Watt), however continuous station operation will vary from year to year.

References

Aster, R., McIntosh, W., Kyle, P., Esser, R., Bartel, B., Dunbar, N., Johns, B., Johnson, J., Karstens, R., Kurnik, C., McGowan, M., McNamara, S., Meertens, C., Pauly, B., Richmond, M., Ruiz, M., New instrumentation delivers multidisciplinary real-time data from Mount Erebus, Antarctica, EOS trans. AGU., 85, 9 March, 2004.

click on map for larger view

(Above Insert) Map of Ross Island, Antarctica showing stations in the permanent MEVO short-period seismic network. (Main) Upper caldera summit view of Mt. Erebus showing the permanent broadband stations (light circles) and the temporary PASSCAL deployments during the 1996-1997 and the 1999-2000 field seasons (dark circles). Station RAY was destroyed by a volcanic bomb in 2004.

Table of Permanent Instruments currently Installed