00:00A team of Mexican scientists has created the first three-dimensional map of the interior of the Popocatepel volcano
00:07to analyze the activity of this geological giant and prevent eruptions that could affect millions of people.
00:12Let's see more details in the following work.
00:18The group, composed of geologists and volcanologists from the Autonomous University of Mexico,
00:25completed a five-year expedition to understand the seismic and volcanic activity of Popocatepel,
00:31one of the most active and largest volcanoes in the world,
00:35with around 25 million people living within a 100 km radius.
00:45What's exciting about Popocatepel, really, it is a sheer majesty, how immense it is.
00:51You don't climb to more than 4,000 meters every day.
00:59The key to the project, was the use of artificial intelligence.
01:03Using specialized algorithms, the team processed seismic data to construct an internal image of the Colossus,
01:10a task that had not been achieved with this level of precision until now.
01:15To achieve this, researchers expanded the network of seismographs from 12 to 22 stations around the volcano.
01:23These devices record every vibration in the ground, generating a massive amount of data on the movement of rocks, gases, and magma.
01:33This effort, I precisely aimed to starting to gather this information and building a database,
01:45that allows for intensive processing, so we can better understand how the volcano works.
01:51We just carried out the first three-dimensional seismic tomography that reaches depths up to 18 km.
02:03Researcher Karen Rodriguez, is aware of the danger and complications involved in carrying out a project of this magnitude,
02:13but her motivation for her profession and her desire to save millions of lives led her to become part of this great effort.
02:21I've always liked mountains, and now volcanoes too. Being so close is a really rewarding experience.
02:31We usually work with data and focus on analyzing it, and when you come to Papua Tepecho, you see how those signals are actually recorded, you even hear them.
02:40The explosions, for example, that's something you just don't get when you're sitting in the office.
02:45Being here, you have to deal with the weather, the physical exhaustion, hauling the equipment, and that makes you appreciate the data much more.
02:57According to opinions from the scientific community, the university's general mapping represents a milestone in the region,
03:05and a completely new way of recognizing active geological bodies, which could revolutionize the field of global volcanology.
03:14state-level
