Automated Volcanic-Gas Sniffer Installed at Mammoth Mountain Fumarole
In July 2014, USGS Scientists Peter Kelly (Cascades Volcano Observatory) and Stuart Wilkinson (California Volcano Observatory) installed an automated volcanic-gas monitoring station on Mammoth Mountain, located on the SW rim of Long Valley Caldera (CA).
Volcanic-gas "sniffer" installed at Mammoth Mountain, California measures temperature plus carbon dioxide and other gas concentration from a steaming vent.
(Credit: Kelly, Peter. Public domain.)
The station tracks the temperature and concentrations of carbon dioxide and other gases at a steaming vent high on the north flank of the mountain known as Mammoth Mountain Fumarole. Temperature and gas composition often fluctuate with earthquake activity under the mountain, probably because shaking opens new pathways for heat and gas to flow towards the surface. The new gas monitor will help scientists track these changes in near real-time. The station will be deployed for the summer months and retrieved before deep snow blankets the mountain.