Peru will implement an explosion detector volcanic that will use the artificial intelligence to optimize prevention and alert tasks on the Sabancaya volcano, the most active in the Andean countrythe National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (Concytec) reported on Monday.
The agency noted that the Peruvian Geophysical Institute (IGP) has been developing a project since 2022, promoted through the ProCiencia program, which uses algorithms for the immediate detection of activity in this volcanic massif located in the Arequipa region, more than 1,000 kilometers south of Lima.
“Our goal is to improve the prevention and alert system. If it currently takes us from five to fifteen minutes to prepare the reports, with this new system we seek to reduce that time to the minimum possible.”commented geophysical engineer Riky Centeno, who leads the project.
The researcher stressed that the use of artificial intelligence will make it possible to overcome the limitation of having a person monitor volcanic activity 24 hours a day without interruption.
The replacement platform allows alerting about an increase in the levels of ash, fumes and gases with a 98% correlation and success rate, according to the studies carried out.
The project, which has received funding of $26,666, has a team of seven researchers and the collaboration of the Universidad Católica San Pablo (UCSP) of Arequipa and the National Meteorological Service (SMN) of Argentina, with the International Volcanic Ash Alert System (VAAC, Buenos Aires).
The IGP reported last November that Sabancaya, whose summit is 5,960 meters above sea level, is the most active volcano in the country, having recorded more than 80,000 explosions since November 6, 2016, when its current eruptive process began.
The volcano has expelled ash and gases, and lahars have also appeared, which are volcanic mud flows that are formed by the mixture of rainwater or melting ice with volcanic ash.
It is the first volcano to be monitored in Peru, since the IGP began its surveillance in 1988 and the National Volcanological Centre (Cenvul) in Arequipa receives data in real time through a network of instruments that includes seismometers, GPS receivers, multi-gas sensors and scientific video cameras, among others.
Experts say there are more than 400 volcanoes in Peru, of which Ubinas and Sabancaya are still erupting, while five others are active, including Misti, Huaynaputina, Ticsani, Yucamane and Tutupaca.