The Plate Boundary Observatory Permanent Global Positioning System Network on Augustine Volcano before and after the 2006 Eruption: Chapter 19 in The 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska

In September of 2004, UNAVCO and the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded EarthScope Plate Boundary Observatory (PBO) installed five permanent Continuous Global Positioning System (CGPS) stations on Augustine Volcano, supplementing one existing CGPS station operated by the Alaska Volcano Observatory. All six CGPS stations proved crucial to scientists for detecting and monitoring the precursory deformation of the volcano beginning in early May 2005, as well as for monitoring the many subsequent small inflationary and deflationary episodes that characterized the 2006 eruption. Following the eruption, in September of 2006, PBO added six additional permanent CGPS stations. The 2006 eruption and its precursors were the first significant activity of the volcano in 20 years and the PBO CGPS network provided an unprecedented opportunity to monitor and detect volcanic ground deformation on an erupting Alaskan stratovolcano. Data from the new CGPS stations coupled with the existing seismic stations provided scientists with the first real opportunity to use geodetic data and real time seismic data to assess the volcanic hazards before, during, and after an Alaskan eruption.