ISLAND PROFILES
St. Lucia - Monitoring
Volcanic and seismic activity in Saint Lucia is monitored by the Seismic Research
Unit. In early 2001, the seismic network in Saint Lucia was upgraded, and now comprises
7 stations that transmit their data to a complete seismograph1 network base station
at Moule-a-Chique. The computer at Moule-a-Chique automatically transmits data to
Trinidad twice daily through an internet link and data can be retrieved on demand
through the telephone system.
In
January 2001 a 12-station GPS2 network was set up in southern Saint Lucia and
a 23-pin levelling profile established close to the Sulphur Springs geothermal field.
GPS results were complemented with distance measurements (EDM) wherever this was
possible. The ground deformation network will be re-measured annually. To date there
have been many investigations into the potential geothermal energy resource at Sulphur
Springs, but
no programme of regular monitoring of geothermal activity. In
April 2001 the Seismic Research Unit established a programme to regularly sample and analyse
gas and water samples from Sulphur Springs.
Monitoring Network, Saint Lucia. Click on map for larger view.
|
Glossary
1 Seismograph. A group of instruments used to record earthquakes. A
seismograph includes a seismometer as well as all equipment used to convert, transmit
and display the signals generated by the seismometer.
2 GPS. GPS stands for Global Positioning System. This is a geophysical
technique used to accurately determine the locations of specific points in three dimensions. Very small (mm scale) changes in the locations of these points can be
recorded over time
|
|