To many people, volcanos seem to be a far-flung threat, with eruptions an unlikely possibility in their everyday lives. For those within the ranges of one of the 161 active volcanos in American territory, however, awareness of their behavior can be a critical thing. A new bill looks to help with that awareness: As part of the recently passed Natural Resources Management Act, the U.S. has approved the establishment of a new system tracking volcanos – the National Early Warning and Monitoring System (NVEWS), according to Gizmodo.
To be under the supervision of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the NVEWS is intended to integrate the local monitoring systems for the various volcano observatories into a single unified system, while also working to modernize and standardize the monitoring equipment and procedures. With coverage of only 88 of the active volcanos being described as modest or better, and 57 volcanos being described as posing high or very high threat to their surroundings, the new agency would seek to expand observations, and establish a central office capable of processing information 24 hours a day. This office would also be responsible for feeding data to researchers to assist in identifying changes in threat levels, while also providing funding to universities and institutions for development of new monitoring and analytical techniques.
The approval of this new project has been a long time coming, with the first effort to create the NVEWS being introduced in 2005.
Source:
https://earther.gizmodo.com/the-u-s-may-finally-get-an-early-warning-system-for-vo-1832931640
