The Works of DANTE - Issue 6

Research Makes Mount Etna Sing!

GÉANT2 and RedCLARA networks supporting data-sonification to extend research to Ecuador’s volcanoes

Predicting eruptions will become easier now scientists are using technology to translate the patterns in a volcano’s behaviour into sound waves. The EU funded “Enabling Grids for E-sciencE” (EGEE) and the “E-Infrastructure shared between Europe and Latin America” (EELA) projects, which are already investigating volcano sonification at Mount Etna, Sicily, are using the GÉANT2 and ALICE-RedCLARA networks to further extend this important study to include Ecuador’s Tungurahua volcano.

 The research project, which brings together experts from Europe and Latin America, digitally collects geophysical information on seismic movements before using data sonification to transform them into audible sound waves, which can then be ‘scored’ as melodies. The resulting ‘music’ is then analysed for patterns of behaviour and used to identify similarities in eruption dynamics and so predict future activity.

The software used for sonification was first developed by Dr. Domenico Vicinanza at the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) for use at Mount Etna, the tallest volcano in Europe. Following the initial work, Dr. Vicinanza and a team of scientists, led by Prof. Roberto Barbera from the University of Catania, are now collaborating with colleagues in Ecuador to study the Tungurahua volcano, transferring data across GÉANT2 to the ALICE-RedCLARA network using a transatlantic 622 Mbps connection. The Ecuadorian National Research and Education Network (CEDIA) is responsible for the connection to the scientists based at Tungurahua itself.

“Through expanding this research to include Latin America’s volcanoes we are hopeful we can build on and further develop the extensive data and information we have already obtained from the studies at Mount Etna,” said Prof. Barbera, Technical Coordinator of the EELA project. “Data sonification can be considered the acoustic counterpart of data graphic visualisation and is key to expanding our knowledge of volcanic seismic patterns to gain a deeper understanding of volcanic activity, especially when this activity precedes eruptive phenomena.” continued Dr. Vicinanza, now at CERN, the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.

Dai Davies, General Manager of DANTE, said: “This project is contributing new knowledge to volcanic research and we are delighted to be providing the networking support needed for the international exchange of scientific learning. The ability to be able to translate geophysical data into sound waves is not only exciting but could prove vital to predicting future eruptions, benefiting everyone in these regions.”

To listen to the melody created by Mount Etna visit:
grid.ct.infn.it/etnasound/page4/page8/etna.aif

To listen to the melody from Tungurahua visit:
grid.ct.infn.it/tungurahuasound/