By\u00a0Milan Loiacono<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n An ecologist, a volcanologist, and a chemist walk into a forest\u2026 It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but this very real collaboration between scientists from NASA and the Universidad de\u00a0Costa Rica\u00a0(University of Costa Rica)\u00a0continues decades of cross-disciplinary work that is currently providing insight into the future of the planet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In summer 2025, a NASA-led team of scientists and engineers gathered in Rinc\u00f3n de la Vieja National Park in Costa Rica. We had\u00a0a twofold purpose: to test the feasibility of using an uncrewed\u00a0aircraft\u00a0system (UAS) to gather data about volcanic emissions, and to use those data to better understand how rising levels of carbon dioxide will\u00a0impact\u00a0vegetation across the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n This project is called the\u00a0Costa Rica Airborne research on\u00a0foresT\u00a0Ecosystem Response to volcanic emissions (CRATER);\u00a0it is\u00a0a partnership between NASA, the\u00a0Universidad de Costa Rica, Chapman University, and Black Swift Technologies.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOftentimes in the history of science, the biggest scientific breakthroughs have come at the intersections of disciplines,\u201d said Joshua Fisher, an ecologist with Chapman University and NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. \u201cWe\u2019ve\u00a0been\u00a0struggling\u00a0to understand one of the most important scientific questions of our time, which is the response of the tropical biosphere to increasing\u00a0levels of\u00a0carbon dioxide in our atmosphere. Now\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0coming together to bridge this impasse and unleash new knowledge about the planet.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Volcanic systems stretch for miles beyond their iconic cones and craters, into forested ecosystems. Small cracks and vents in the Earth\u2019s crust, called fumaroles, passively release gases such as carbon dioxide into the air above.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0these gases that\u00a0our\u00a0team set out to measure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The\u00a0Rinc\u00f3n\u00a0de la Vieja volcanic system\u00a0extends\u00a0roughly 100\u00a0square miles, including 12 volcanic craters and swaths of protected forests littered with fumaroles.\u00a0This provides an ideal natural laboratory to study how rising\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0levels across the planet will\u00a0impact\u00a0vegetation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Carbon dioxide\u00a0levels in Earth\u2019s atmosphere, measured in parts per million (ppm),\u00a0have risen from\u00a0315 ppm in 1958 to 430 ppm in 2025.\u00a0We\u00a0want to understand how plant life will respond to this change.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Trees across the\u00a0Rinc\u00f3n\u00a0de la Vieja volcanic system experience higher levels of\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0than the rest of the planet, with those concentrations spiking near vents and gradually dropping as the\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0diffuses into the air.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re basically wandering through these volcanic rainforests trying to figure out the secret to the future,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cThe whole Earth is going to have concentrations of\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0that match\u00a0what\u00a0this forest is experiencing now. These trees have been exposed to our future\u00a0atmosphere\u00a0for the past hundreds or thousands of years, and so whatever\u00a0they\u2019ve\u00a0done to adapt, we can expect to see similar behavior in ecosystems the world over.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n With the natural laboratory\u00a0established, the next problem facing\u00a0our team\u00a0was how to study it: enter the S2 Black Swift UAS.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Black Swift Technologies makes small UAS for a variety of scientific applications, specializing in challenging environments. \u201cWe started out tornado chasing,\u201d said Black Swift CEO Jack Elston, who joined the CRATER team in the field as the\u00a0pilot in\u00a0command. \u201cThis S2 was specifically developed for low-altitude sampling of\u00a0carbon dioxide, which works well for CRATER\u2019s mission. With even tree height like at\u00a0Rinc\u00f3n\u00a0de la Vieja, we can get down to just 30 feet above the canopy.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Over the course of the campaign, the S2 flew two payloads on six total flights.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The photogrammetry payload\u00a0contains\u00a0a normal digital camera to capture high-resolution images and a thermal camera, to capture temperature. By overlapping the\u00a0images\u00a0we were\u00a0able to create detailed maps of the terrain, including elevation and vegetation health.\u00a0<\/p>\n The trace gas payload uses a common sensor for measuring\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0and water vapor,\u00a0modified\u00a0to be lighter and record data faster.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n A system of 15 ground sensors installed across the\u00a0Rinc\u00f3n\u00a0de la Vieja forest by Fisher and his\u00a0ground\u00a0team validated data from the drone, and provided data points beneath the canopy to better understand how quickly the gases dispersed from the ground to the canopy, then up to the height of the S2.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur preliminary analysis shows that the S2\u2019s measurements matched up well with the ground sensors, which means this is\u00a0a feasible\u00a0way to study these emission sources,\u201d\u00a0said Jay Tomlin, the science principal investigator for CRATER.\u00a0\u201cWe can fly lower than normal\u00a0aircraft and\u00a0get incredibly detailed maps down to a six-centimeter\u00a0resolution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In addition to the vegetation impact,\u00a0we\u00a0also investigated if the S2 could track how gases move and if gas emissions could serve as an indicator of volcanic activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n By combining Fisher\u2019s ground sensor data with the S2\u2019s airborne data,\u00a0our\u00a0team looked for patterns in\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0movement to shed new light on how these volcanic emissions behave as they enter the atmosphere.\u00a0<\/p>\n Carbon dioxide is slightly heavier than the normal atmospheric air, which is a cocktail of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of a few other gases. This means that concentrated carbon dioxide will sometimes move in specific ways, like flowing downhill or pooling in holes or caves, before eventually dissipating into the air.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Imagine adding a drop of food coloring into a glass of water.\u00a0The drop\u00a0holds\u00a0together at first and slowly disperses into the water;\u00a0that is\u00a0essentially how\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0interacts with the atmosphere. Jostling or swirling the cup\u00a0simulates\u00a0wind,\u00a0creating\u00a0movement that can be difficult to predict.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn atmospheric chemistry there is a large uncertainty on how gases move in the atmosphere,\u201d Tomlin said. \u201cOne benefit from CRATER,\u00a0outside of\u00a0the\u00a0volcanology and ecology fields,\u00a0is the opportunity to track how\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0moves from a concentrated source like a vent. This information will contribute to\u00a0answering\u00a0bigger atmospheric questions about how gases move and\u00a0impact\u00a0our weather patterns.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Ecosystem responses to rising\u00a0carbon dioxide\u00a0may\u00a0also\u00a0serve as early indicators of an impending eruption:\u00a0when magma starts rising to the surface, it pushes out gases\u00a0above\u00a0it\u2014like\u00a0carbon dioxide\u2014which in turn can tell scientists about the magma itself and the status of the underground volcanic complex.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re figuring out how to use gas emission data to assess the condition of a volcano before, during, and after an eruption,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Jorge Andres Diaz, a professor at the\u00a0Universidad de Costa Rica\u2019s\u00a0GasLab. \u201cIf we understand these factors, we can better tell\u00a0when an eruption will happen, and how big that eruption will be. Nature is telling you something, you just need to know how to listen.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n For questions about the project, contact principal investigator Florian Schwandner:\u00a0<\/em>florian.m.schwandner@nasa.gov<\/em><\/a>\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\nThe volcanic system: a \u2018crystal ball\u2019 into the planet\u2019s future<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
How do we measure these gases in a remote area?\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
Tracking gas transport\u00a0and\u00a0volcanic activity<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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