SESDA Assists Lava Tube Modeling

June 30, 2022

Screenshot of NASA Expeditions tweet. Text: Welcome to Golden Dome! Like most caves here at Lava Beds National Monument, this one follows the path of an ancient lava flow. Over time, some parts of the underground tunnel have collapsed, creating entrances like this one.

In support of NASA’s Goddard Instrument Field Team (GIFT), SESDA’s Caela Barry acted as the logistics and public engagement lead during a May field trip to California’s Medicine Lake Volcano and Lava Beds National Monument. While there, the team used instrumentation such as magnetometers, LIDAR, and ground penetrating radar to locate, map, and characterize several lava tubes. The results of their measurements will serve as baseline processes and terrestrial analogs for similar Lunar and Martian volcanic terrains. During the trip, Caela posted the team’s activities and progress on the @NASAExpeditions (Twitter) and @NASAEarth (Instagram) accounts, with each account receiving hundreds of thousands of impressions. While at the site, Caela also distributed outreach materials and hosted interactive presentations for the park’s rangers and visitors.

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