Scientists say that changes in tree leaves can indicate when nearby volcanoes are becoming more active or may erupt. According to a study by NASA, scientists believe they can detect these changes from space using satellites.
NASA points out that 10% of the world’s population lives in areas susceptible to volcanic disasters. People living or working within a few miles of a volcano eruption site face the hazards of lava, ash, and large amounts of hot toxic gases. Even in more distant areas, mudslides, volcanic ash, and tsunamis following a volcanic eruption also pose threats.
Because volcanic eruptions are uncontrollable, early signs of volcanic activity are crucial for public safety. If volcanic eruptions can be predicted in advance, it may prevent many casualties.
When volcanoes become more active and closer to erupting, they push magma to the surface, releasing higher concentrations of carbon dioxide, causing the trees absorbing this carbon dioxide to become greener and more lush.
Although scientists find it difficult to measure carbon dioxide concentrations near volcanoes, especially in remote locations, they can observe changes in trees from satellites in space as an early warning system.
Nicole Guinn, a volcanologist at the University of Houston, says, “We can use a variety of satellites for this type of analysis.”
In a study led by Guinn in 2024, researchers compared carbon dioxide concentrations measured by detectors around Mount Etna in Italy with satellite images. They found a close relationship between increased carbon dioxide and greening of trees.
Currently, Guinn and other scientists are collaborating on a study led by NASA and the Smithsonian Institution to analyze changes in plant colors around volcanoes in Panama and Costa Rica.
This is part of a mission called “Airborne Validation Unified Experiment: Land to Ocean (AVUELO),” which seeks to develop more methods for measuring the Earth’s health via satellites.
Current methods, like NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 satellite, can only detect large-scale volcanic eruptions.
According to Robert Bogue, “If the amount of carbon dioxide released during a volcanic eruption is low, it will not be visible in satellite images.” The whole concept is to find something that people can observe directly as an alternative to monitoring changes in volcanic carbon dioxide emissions.
Josh Fisher, a climate scientist at Chapman University and member of the AVUELO team, says, “We are interested not only in using tree responses to volcanic carbon dioxide emissions as early warnings of volcanic eruptions, but also in understanding how much carbon dioxide trees can absorb to grasp the impact on the Earth’s future when global trees are exposed to high concentrations of carbon dioxide.”
Florian Schwandner, director of the Earth Science Division at NASA’s Ames Research Center, says that tracking the effect of volcanic carbon dioxide emissions on trees is not a panacea, but it holds the promise of improving the current situation.