Monitor lava flow with 3D technology

Scientists have developed a technology that uses 3D imagery to study the flow of volcanic lava, to reduce damage to humans.

The new 3D imaging technology is what scientists call LIDAR technology , which combines radar and light to produce high-resolution imagery from the air.

To gather data, the team will equip aircraft to scan the terrain with hundreds of thousands of laser beams perpendicular to the ground. Based on the information processed by the laser, the team will reproduce a 3D model of the flow structure of the volcanic lava.

3D Mauna Loa volcano map is made up of laser technology. (Photo: NBC News)

The LIDAR technology was recently used by the geology department at the University of Oregon to produce high-resolution lava images from the eruptions of Kilauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes. Previous studies of volcanic eruptions in Kilauea and Mauna Loa have concentrated in the main streams. But with the new data collected, the team found that they had bypassed several branches of the secondary flow.

Kathy Cashman, a geologist at the University of Oregon, said the technology would create a new direction for research on volcanic lava flows.

According to scientists, although laser scanning is expensive, the results obtained in each scan can be used in many other fields, such as geological, biological and forest research. ..

Earlier, scientists used satellite imagery to study the flow of volcanic lava. However, this method often has many limitations such as low resolution images or obscured by clouds, branches.