<p>Here's a partial answer: </p>

<p>The <a href="http://www.trailbyfire.org" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Trail by Fire expedition 1.5</a> -- "We're a team of young volcanologists planning to measure the entire flux of gases emitted by volcanoes along the Nazca subduction zone." -- driving through South America has "a fleet of quadcopters with gas sensing and sampling capabilities, establishing a remote presence in the volcanic plumes we encounter along the Trail by Fire."</p>

<p>On <a href="http://www.trailbyfire.org/gearsponsors/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">their sponsors page</a> they list the science payload for each of three Matrix quadcopters (more details about the mechanisms and some custom kit are on the page), which are used because of the difficulty and hazard of climbing to the vents along the mountain chain and sampling the plumes:</p>

<ul>
<li>An Ocean Optics Flame UV-DOAS spectrometer for SO2 measurements</li>
<li>A multigas sensor built by INGV (Italy)</li>
<li>A gas collector to bring plume gas to the Delta Ray Spectrometer</li>
</ul>

<p>There's also a bit of drone footage included in the videos on <a href="http://www.trailbyfire.org/news/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">their blog page</a>.</p>

<p>Note that their goal is specifically to understand the gases: "Our objective is to provide the first accurate and large-scale estimate of the flux of volatile species (H2O, H2, CO2, CO, SO2, H2S, HCl, HF, and more) emitted by volcanoes of the Nazca subduction zone."</p>

<p>(Disclaimer: I only know about this because one of the researchers worked for my institution during last year's initial expedition. A review of the literature may show more published uses of drones and UAVs beyond simply shooting video.)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-05T18:23:21.840Z
2017-03-05T18:37:05.730Z
2017-03-05T18:37:05.730Z
jeffronicus
<p>And what kind of vehicles and drones are used or are planned for now and for near future?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-03-05T08:37:57.790Z
The question suggests there is a certain type, or certain criteria. I doubt that there are. The drone market is wide, young, and constantly changing, so anything that will do the job... For the same reason, saying anything about the near future is pure guesswork.
Jan Doggen
<volcanic-hazard>
How are flying drones and unmanned vehicled used for exploring volcanoes?
J.H.Wegener
# How are flying drones and unmanned vehicled used for exploring volcanoes?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-03-05)

And what kind of vehicles and drones are used or are planned for now and for near future?

**Tags:** volcanic-hazard

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The question suggests there is a certain type, or certain criteria. I doubt that there are. The drone market is wide, young, and constantly changing, so anything that will do the job... For the same reason, saying anything about the near future is pure guesswork.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2017-03-05. Score: 1

Here's a partial answer:

The [Trail by Fire expedition 1.5](http://www.trailbyfire.org) -- "We're a team of young volcanologists planning to measure the entire flux of gases emitted by volcanoes along the Nazca subduction zone." -- driving through South America has "a fleet of quadcopters with gas sensing and sampling capabilities, establishing a remote presence in the volcanic plumes we encounter along the Trail by Fire."

On [their sponsors page](http://www.trailbyfire.org/gearsponsors/) they list the science payload for each of three Matrix quadcopters (more details about the mechanisms and some custom kit are on the page), which are used because of the difficulty and hazard of climbing to the vents along the mountain chain and sampling the plumes:

* An Ocean Optics Flame UV-DOAS spectrometer for SO2 measurements
* A multigas sensor built by INGV (Italy)
* A gas collector to bring plume gas to the Delta Ray Spectrometer

There's also a bit of drone footage included in the videos on [their blog page](http://www.trailbyfire.org/news/).

Note that their goal is specifically to understand the gases: "Our objective is to provide the first accurate and large-scale estimate of the flux of volatile species (H2O, H2, CO2, CO, SO2, H2S, HCl, HF, and more) emitted by volcanoes of the Nazca subduction zone."

(Disclaimer: I only know about this because one of the researchers worked for my institution during last year's initial expedition. A review of the literature may show more published uses of drones and UAVs beyond simply shooting video.)


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