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Our Projects

Stromboli

An electrostatic thunderstorm detector was installed on Stromboli volcano, Italy. Stromboli is well known for its persistent eruptive activity of mild basaltic explosions that episodically eject fresh, incandescent ballistic particles.

Sakurajima

Volcanic lightning is often overlooked at persistently active volcanoes. At Sakurajima we used long-term deployment of sensors to investigate the electrification of frequent ash-rich Vulcanian explosions. Our study show that small scale explosions often generate volcanic lightning that are not detected by regional lightning antenna networks.

La Palma

Low magnitude and intensity explosive eruptions at basaltic volcanoes are widely under investigated.
During the 2021 Tajogaite eruption at Cumbre Vieja volcano we had the chance to continuously measure electrification and volcanic lightning generated by the Strombolian and lava fountaining explosive activity.

2022 Fagradasfjall eruption

We had the chance to measure the electrical activity produced during the early activity of the 2022 Fagradsfjall basaltic fissure. Our detector survived the high temperatures generated by the streaming lava flows.

The lab

We began to study the phenomenon in our laboratory in the Theresienstraße: Particles of volcanic ash are accelerated into a shock tube and imaged with the aid of a high-speed camera. This enables us to observe the properties of the discharges that develop in the ash cloud.

Field campaigns | Strokkur Geysir

Can geysers eruptions produce electrical signals? Are geyser eruptions a good electrical analogue of basaltic explosive eruptions? We have measured electrical activity produced at Strokkur Geysir in Iceland to answer those questions.