The purpose of the NSF-funded Community Network for Volcanic Eruption Response (CONVERSE) Research Coordination Network (RCN) is to enable, organize, and focus the collaboration of US academic and government researchers, along with foreign entities, involved in volcano science. The goal of the enhanced collaboration is to advance our ability to adequately monitor the unrest and run-up to volcanic eruptions and once an eruption occurs, to adequately collect critical data and samples to develop next-generation physical/chemical models of volcanoes and through these understand processes of magma generation, transfer and eruption.

CONVERSE Infrasound Workshop

• November 19-20, 2019 in Fairbanks, AK
• Organizers:
  • David Fee (University of Alaska Fairbanks)
  • Jeffrey Johnson (Boise State University)
  • John Lyons (USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory)
  • Matt Haney (USGS Alaska Volcano Observatory)
  • Robin Matoza (UC Santa Barbara)
• The following key outcomes were developed during the workshop:
  1. Infrasound sensors and recording units are at a level of maturity that allows high-resolution measurements that allow key science questions to be answered.
  2. Effort should be made to balance and implement sparse, long-term and dense, short-term infrasound networks. Long-term recordings are key for understanding background activity and capturing unexpected eruptions, while dense campaign networks are needed for detailed quantitative studies and modeling. The combination of these will reduce observational bias. Real-time data are needed for some but not all stations. Sensors should be deployed in both array and network configurations, and co-located with seismic stations when possible. Tools should be made available or developed to help model where stations should be deployed.
  3. Provision of open source codes and data are key using established data repositories.
  4. Additional training on infrasound theory, code usage, modeling, data analysis, deployment strategies, etc is needed. More early career development and training is also needed, including expanding diversity in the field.
  5. A single community-run “volcano infrasound” website is needed to host best practices documents and link to codes and other resources.
  6. Infrasound metadata are often an afterthought and incorrect. More effort should be put into establishing accurate metadata and easing metadata dissemination.
  7. Community resources are needed for improved waveform modeling. Modeling codes and software tools are often only available to certain groups, and significant advances could be made with more open-source, standardized tools. High-resolution Digital Elevation Models (DEM) are needed by these codes, and availability of such models should be improved.
  8. A community pool of infrasound instruments would be helpful to advance infrasound science and be of great value during eruption response.
  9. Community volcano infrasound experiments and further practical workshops, focused on developing best practices and education/outreach, are recommended.
• The full workshop report is available here.
• For more information, see the Workshop Website