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BES Expedition 2019 – Saba & St. Eustasius

31 January 2019

A volcano monitoring network for Mount Scenery and The Quill in the Caribbean Netherlands.

The islands of Saba and St. Eustatius in the Caribbean Netherlands, with a population of about 2000 and 3000 respectively, host the stratovolcanoes of Mt. Scenery and The Quill. These volcanoes are part of the active volcanic arc of the Lesser Antilles. Monitoring them is the only way to detect changes in their current state.

The Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) deploys a monitoring network, operational since 2006, consisting of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers, seismometers and a temperature sensor. The data are used to monitor seismic activity and the state of the volcano.

Mt. Scenery on Saba
Aerial photograph of Saba showing Mt. Scenery.
St. Eustatius & Saba
Geographical locations of the sensors in the network (red: seismometer; blue: permanent site with colocated seismometer and GNSS sensor; white: planned GNSS site; yellow: hot spring with two temperature sensors).

Between 27 January and 8 February 2019 a team from KNMI visited the islands to extend the existing volcano monitoring network and maintain the existing sites.

Dalfsen, E., & Sleeman, R. (2018). A Permanent, Real-Time Monitoring Network for the Volcanoes Mount Scenery and The Quill in the Caribbean Netherlands. Geosciences, 8(9), 320. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8090320