[1] This paper presents the global project Network for Observation of Volcanic and Atmospheric Change (NOVAC), the aim of which is automatic gas emission monitoring at active volcanoes worldwide. Data from the network will be used primarily for volcanic risk assessment but also for geophysical research, studies of atmospheric change, and ground validation of satellite instruments. A novel type of instrument, the scanning miniaturized differential optical absorption spectroscopy (Mini-DOAS) instrument, is applied in the network to measure volcanic gas emissions by UV absorption spectroscopy. The instrument is set up 5-10 km downwind of the volcano under study, and typically two to four instruments are deployed at each volcano in order to cover different wind directions and to facilitate measurements of plume height and plume direction. Two different versions of the instrument have been developed. Version I was designed to be a robust and simple instrument for measurement of volcanic SO 2 emissions at high time resolution with minimal power consumption. Version II was designed to allow the best possible spectroscopy and enhanced flexibility in regard to measurement geometry at the cost of larger complexity, power consumption, and price. In this paper the project is described, as well as the developed software, the hardware of the two instrument versions, measurement strategies, data communication, and archiving routines. As of April 2009 a total of 46 instruments have been installed at 18 volcanoes worldwide. As a typical example, the installation at Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador is described, together with some results from the first 21 months of operation at this volcano.

[1] Mapping and sampling of 18 eruptive units in two study areas along the Galápagos Spreading Center (GSC) provide insight into how magma supply affects mid-ocean ridge (MOR) volcanic eruptions. The two study areas have similar spreading rates (53 versus 55 mm/yr), but differ by 30% in the time-averaged rate of magma supply (0.3 Â 10 6 versus 0.4 Â 10 6 m 3 /yr/km). Detailed geologic maps of each study area incorporate observations of flow contacts and sediment thickness, in addition to sample petrology, geomagnetic paleointensity, and inferences from high-resolution bathymetry data. At the lower-magma-supply study area, eruptions typically produce irregularly shaped clusters of pillow mounds with total eruptive volumes ranging from 0.09 to 1.3 km 3 . At the higher-magma-supply study area, lava morphologies characteristic of higher effusion rates are more common, eruptions typically occur along elongated fissures, and eruptive volumes are an order of magnitude smaller (0.002-0.13 km 3 ). At this site, glass MgO contents (2.7-8.4 wt. %) and corresponding liquidus temperatures are lower on average, and more variable, than those at the lower-magma-supply study area (6.2-9.1 wt. % MgO). The differences in eruptive volume, lava temperature, morphology, and inferred eruption rates observed between the two areas along the GSC are similar to those that have previously been related to variable spreading rates on the global MOR system. Importantly, the documentation of multiple sequences of eruptions at each study area, representing hundreds to thousands of years, provides constraints on the variability in eruptive style at a given magma supply and spreading rate.

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Forecasting future activity and performing hazard assessments during the reactivation of large andesitic volcanoes remain a great challenge for the volcanological community. On August 14, 2015 Cotopaxi volcano erupted for the first time in 73 years after approximately four months of precursory activity, which included an increase in seismicity, gas emissions, and minor ground deformation. Here we discuss the use of near real-time petrological monitoring of ash samples as a complementary aid to geophysical monitoring, in order to infer eruption dynamics and evaluate possible future eruptive activity at Cotopaxi. Twenty ash samples were collected between August 14 and November 23, 2015 from a monitoring site on the west flank of the volcano. These samples

To better characterize the climate variability of the last millennium in the high Andes, we analyzed the pollen content of a 1150-yr-old sediment core collected in a bog located at 3800 m a.s.l. in the páramo in the eastern Cordillera in Ecuador. An upslope convective index based on the ratio between cloud transported pollen from the Andean forest to the bog (T) and Poaceae pollen frequencies, related to the edaphic moisture of the páramo (P), was defined. This index was used to distinguish changes in the atmospheric moisture from the soil moisture content of the páramo and their associated patterns of interdecadal El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability and South American summer monsoon (SASM) activity. Results show that between 850 and 1250 AD, the Medieval Climate Anomaly interval was warm and moist with a high transported pollen/Poaceae pollen (T/P) index linked to high ENSO variability and weak SASM activity. Between 1250 and 1550 AD, a dry climate prevailed, characterized by an abrupt decrease in the T/P index and therefore no upslope cloud convection, related to lower ENSO variability and with significant impact on the floristic composition of the páramo. During the Little Ice Age, two phases were observed: first, a wet phase between 1550 and 1750 AD linked to low ENSO variability in the Pacific and warm south equatorial Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) favored the return of a wet páramo, and then a cold and dry phase between 1750 and 1800 AD associated with low ENSO variability and weak SASM activity resulted in drying of the páramo. The current warm period marks the beginning of a climate characterized by high convective activity – the highest in the last millennium – and weaker SASM activity modifying the water storage of the páramo. Our results show that the páramo is progressively losing its capacity for water storage and that the interdecadal variability of both tropical Pacific and Atlantic SSTs matter for Andean climate patterns, although many teleconnection mechanisms are still poorly understood