An Autonomous Thermal Camera System for Monitoring Fumarole Activity

TL;DR

This paper introduces an autonomous thermal camera system to monitor fumarole activity in Kenya's geothermal fields for long-term subsurface activity tracking.

Contribution

The novel contribution is the development and deployment of an autonomous thermal camera system for fumarole monitoring in geothermal areas.

Findings

The system captures fumarole activity hourly using a solar-powered setup.

Data from the cameras helps understand geothermal system dynamics over time.

The paper identifies performance metrics and areas for system improvement.

Abstract

The Kenyan part of the East African Rift System hosts several geothermal fields for energy production. Changes in the extraction rate of geothermal fluids and the amount of water re-injected into the system affect reservoir pressure and production capacity over time. Understanding the balance of production, natural processes and the response of the geothermal system requires long-term monitoring. The presence of a geothermal system at depth is often accompanied by surface manifestations, such as hot water springs and fumaroles, which have the potential for monitoring subsurface activity. Two thermal camera timelapse systems were developed and installed as part of a multi-sensor observatory in Kenya to capture fumarole activity over time. These cameras are an aggregation of a camera unit, a control unit, and a battery charged by a solar panel, and they monitor fumarole activity on an hourly basis, with a deep sleep of the system in between recordings. The article describes the choice of hardware and software, presents the data that the cameras acquire, and discusses the system’s performance and possible improvement points.

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