Available technology has been adapted to monitor active volcanoes by a very small group of dedicated and innovative people. Most of the development of new procedures, and the modification of old ones, was conducted with the guiding philosophy of keeping the techniques as inexpensive as practical using easily accessible technology. This philosophy results in systems that are both suitable for, and within the budgetary reach of, developing nations that have a need to evaluate, monitor, and mitigate volcanic hazards. Most of the chapters were written by the technical personnel of CVO, who were largely responsible for the development and testing of the monitoring technologies. We believe that the chapters in this bulletin demonstrate the wisdom of promoting and maintaining such an environment.
Nothing is permanent except change.
All of the techniques described in the bulletin can and will be improved with time. The chapters in the bulletin should provide well-grounded starting points for such improvements.