Sensor web enables rapid response to volcanic activity

Rapid response to the onset of volcanic activity allows for the early assessment of hazard and risk [Tilling, 1989]. Data from remote volcanoes and volcanoes in countries with poor communication infrastructure can only be obtained via remote sensing [Harris et al., 2000]. By linking notifications of activity from ground‐based and spacebased systems, these volcanoes can be monitored when they erupt. Over the last 18 months, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) has implemented a Volcano Sensor Web (VSW) in which data from ground‐based and space‐based sensors that detect current volcanic activity are used to automatically trigger the NASA Earth Observing 1 (EO‐1) spacecraft to make highspatial‐resolution observations of these volcanoes.