In January 2018, Mt. Motoshirane (elevation 1 meters) of Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane erupted in Kusatsu-cho, Gunma Prefecture. It was decided to grant an emergency grant totaling 2,171 million yen to the institution.It is useful for predicting changes in volcanic activity, elucidating the process of steam eruption, and assessing the risk of snowmelt mudflow.
According to the Ministry of Education, a total of 22 researchers, including Professor Yasuo Ogawa of the Volcanic Fluid Research Center, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Associate Professor of Hokkaido University, Isao Ueishi, and Senior Researcher of the Institute for Disaster Prevention Science and Technology, will comprehensively erupt. It corresponds to the investigation.
Around the north crater of Kagamiike on Mt. Motoshirane, an unmanned helicopter will be used to observe the heat distribution, compare it with past data, and increase the number of observation points in the mountains to collect seismic data in real time.
In addition, the ejecta from the eruption will be collected, the amount of eruption will be estimated, and the presence or absence of magmatic material will be investigated.In addition, the sulfur dioxide gas ejected from the crater will be monitored and observed from a remote location, and changes in the chemical composition of the hot spring water and fumaroles around Mt. Motoshirane will be investigated.
The eruption occurred on January 1, without noticeable warning, for the first time in 23 years, killing a 1,500-year-old Ground Self-Defense Force man who was training at a ski resort and injuring 49 others.
Of the 111 active volcanoes in Japan, 50 including Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane constantly observe volcanic activity, but at Mt. Kusatsu-Shirane, surveillance cameras are installed so as to surround the Yugama crater of Mt. The observation system was too weak to be on the alert.
