Walking on Hot Snow
By Roberto Rinaldi
ITC Italy Technical Training and Support - ITC Level III
Since I began working for FLIR Systems, the world’s leading provider of thermal imaging cameras, I have used thermal imaging technology for many different applications, including Condition monitoring, Military and Medical. But none of my experiences with thermal imaging cameras compare to the opportunity I had to climb the Etna volcano. Making the climb with my trusty thermal imaging camera in hand was one of the most exciting experiences of my life.
It was a fresh clear morning in October when Dr. Sonia Calvari, myself, and our guide began to climb the volcano from the East side. A wind was blowing so it was important not to be leeward because the sulphuric smoke is extremely dangerous to breathe. If we had had FLIR’s brand-new GasFindIR thermal imaging camera, designed specifically for gas and petroleum applications, we actually would have been able to see the invisible poisonous gas! For more information on the thermal imaging camera, GasFindIR, please visit http://www.flirthermography.com/canada_en/cameras/camera/1080/.
We started our drive to the top through villages, forest, and over black rocks that looked like a moonscape.
The air temperature at the beginning of the morning was rather cold, around + 2°C. When we arrived at the top shelter (around 3000 meters), we found snow waiting for us, and the ground was black and white.
The final segment was a long walk, a bit more than a kilometer, toward the crater. We made it with the equipment and thermal imaging camera, stepping through rocks and thin volcanic ash.
From time to time I grabbed the thermal imaging camera to collect images and I realized, viewing the top of the cone at 2 km distance, the importance of using the right lens to make measurements. Here are three thermal images taken with the 24° lens, the 12°, and the 7° respectively. The maximum temperatures ranged from 99 to 174 C.
When we arrived at the crater rim we saw smoke and nothing else. We used the thermal imaging camera to see through the smoke and mist Sonia couldn’t believe how clear the images were.
Jumping from image to image, we stored about 100 pictures. Thankfully, the thermal imaging camera shows you things that would be missed by the naked eye. By mistake, I pointed the thermal imaging camera at my feet and took a shot. The ground was turning green around the fumaroles and in those areas the camera temperature readout was rather high, close to the melting point of my rubber shoes!
All of a sudden the volcano started to rumble, and a quick look with the thermal imaging camera at the crater showed us lapilli (small stony or glassy fragments of lava ejected in a volcanic eruption) being thrown into the sky through the smoke. Sonia said: “it’s time to go it could be dangerous to stay here longer.”
Thanks in part to the thermal imaging camera, we made it down the volcano safely. Sonia is now using her ThermaCAM 695 thermal imaging camera with great success. The possibilities for application of thermal imaging cameras to environmental research, restoration and exploration are endless.
For more information on thermal imaging cameras, please visit http://www.flirthermography.com/cameras/all_cameras.asp.