Volcanic monitoring plan discussed with experts

The Public Entity Saba has discussed a plan of approach of how increased monitoring of seismic activity on the island will take place. The plan of approach was discussed between the government and the organisation in the Netherlands responsible for the task, the Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute KNMI.

Officials from KNMI explained that they will be coming to the island in the middle of this year to install three new seismometers. The seismometers, which are already on Saba, will be installed at different locations around the island; also to be installed is a special Global Positioning System (GPS) device, which can measure whether there is expansion and contraction of the earth.

The island government has also reached out to experts in the region and internationally to determine the best way to measure temperature and chemical composition at the hot springs located close to the sulphur mine. Changes in either of these could be an indicator of volcanic activity. The idea is to visit the area on a regular basis by boat. The government believes that with the right equipment and protocols in place there is an adequate alerting system so that the appropriate measures can be taken if necessary.