Wilkes, T., Pering, T., McGonigle, A. et al. (2 more authors) (2017) A Low-Cost Smartphone Sensor-Based UV Camera for Volcanic SO2 Emission Measurements. Remote Sensing, 9 (1). 27. ISSN 2072-4292
Abstract
Recently, we reported on the development of low-cost ultraviolet (UV) cameras, based on the modification of sensors designed for the smartphone market. These units are built around modified Raspberry Pi cameras (PiCams; ≈USD 25), and usable system sensitivity was demonstrated in the UVA and UVB spectral regions, of relevance to a number of application areas. Here, we report on the first deployment of PiCam devices in one such field: UV remote sensing of sulphur dioxide emissions from volcanoes; such data provide important insights into magmatic processes and are applied in hazard assessments. In particular, we report on field trials on Mt. Etna, where the utility of these devices in quantifying volcanic sulphur dioxide (SO2) emissions was validated. We furthermore performed side-by-side trials of these units against scientific grade cameras, which are currently used in this application, finding that the two systems gave virtually identical flux time series outputs, and that signal-to-noise characteristics of the PiCam units appeared to be more than adequate for volcanological applications. Given the low cost of these sensors, allowing two-filter SO2 camera systems to be assembled for ≈USD 500, they could be suitable for widespread dissemination in volcanic SO2 monitoring internationally.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2017 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
Keywords: | SO2 camera; Raspberry Pi; low-cost ultraviolet camera; volcanic gas emissions; sulphur dioxide; volcano monitoring |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Engineering (Sheffield) > Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering (Sheffield) The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > Department of Geography (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 03 Feb 2017 11:13 |
Last Modified: | 10 Mar 2017 12:13 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.3390/rs9010027 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/rs9010027 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:111560 |