Sébastien Valade

Sébastien Valade

Professor - Volcanology/Geophysics

Department of Volcanology (Institute of Geophysics, UNAM)

Sébastien Valade is Professor (Investigador Titular A) in the Department of Volcanology in the Institute of Geophysics at UNAM (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City). He is the founder and developer of the volcano monitoring system MOUNTS (Monitoring Unrest from Space, www.mounts-project.com).

He is a member of the Editorial Board in the journal Communications Earth & Environment (Nature Portfolio).


Interests
  • volcanic eruption dynamics
  • ground- & satellite-based observation of volcanic activity
  • computer vision
  • machine- & deep-learning applied to volcanology
Professional Appointments

Publications

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Featured Publications (top 5):

Sébastien Valade, Diego Coppola, Robin Campion, Andreas Ley, Thomas Boulesteix, Noémie Taquet, Denis Legrand, Marco Laiolo, Thomas R. Walter, Servando De La Cruz-Reyna (2023). Lava dome cycles reveal rise and fall of magma column at Popocatépetl volcano. Nature Communications.

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Sébastien Valade, Andreas Ley, Francesco Massimetti, Olivier D’Hondt, Marco Laiolo, Diego Coppola, David Loibl, Olaf Hellwich, Thomas R. Walter (2019). Towards Global Volcano Monitoring Using Multisensor Sentinel Missions and Artificial Intelligence: The MOUNTS Monitoring System. Remote Sensing.

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Sébastien Valade, Maurizio Ripepe, Giovanni Giuffrida, Katcho Karume, Dario Tedesco (2018). Dynamics of Mount Nyiragongo lava lake inferred from thermal imaging and infrasound array. Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

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Sébastien Valade, Giorgio Lacanna, Diego Coppola, Marco Laiolo, Marco Pistolesi, Dario Delle Donne, Riccardo Genco, Emanuele Marchetti, Giacomo Ulivieri, Carmine Allocca, Corrado Cigolini, Takeshi Nishimura, Pasquale Poggi, Maurizio Ripepe (2016). Tracking dynamics of magma migration in open-conduit systems. Bulletin of Volcanology.

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Sébastien Valade, F. Donnadieu, P. Lesage, M. M. Mora, A. Harris, G. E. Alvarado (2012). Explosion mechanisms at Arenal volcano, Costa Rica: An interpretation from integration of seismic and Doppler radar data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.

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Latest Publications (last 5):

* articles written by students under the supervision of Sébastien Valade
Karina Bernal-Manzanilla, Marco Calò, Daniel Martínez-Jaramillo, Sébastien Valade (2025). Automated Seismo-Volcanic Event Detection Applied to Popocatépetl Using Machine Learning. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research.

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Santiago Piñón Juárez*, Nelly L. Ramírez-Serrato, Sébastien Valade (2024). Detection of Volcanic Ash Using Goes-16 Satellite Imagery: Case Study of Popocatépetl Volcano, Mexico.

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Sébastien Valade, Diego Coppola, Robin Campion, Andreas Ley, Thomas Boulesteix, Noémie Taquet, Denis Legrand, Marco Laiolo, Thomas R. Walter, Servando De La Cruz-Reyna (2023). Lava dome cycles reveal rise and fall of magma column at Popocatépetl volcano. Nature Communications.

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Balazs Markus*, Sébastien Valade, Manuel Wöllhaf, Olaf Hellwich (2023). Automatic retrieval of volcanic SO2 emission source from TROPOMI products. Frontiers in Earth Science.

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Silvana Hidalgo, Francisco Javier Vasconez, Jean Battaglia, Benjamin Bernard, Pedro Espín, Sébastien Valade, María-Fernanda Naranjo, Robin Campion, Josué Salgado, Marco Córdova, Marco Almeida, Stephen Hernández, Gerardo Pino, Elizabeth Gaunt, Andrew Bell, Patricia Mothes, Mario Ruiz (2022). Sangay volcano (Ecuador): the opening of two new vents, a drumbeat seismic sequence and a new lava flow in late 2021. Volcanica.

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Talks

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Latest Talks:

[invited seminar] Sébastien Valade (2024) "El volcán desde el espacio", Simposio "30 años de la reactivación del Popocatépetl: estado del conocimiento sobre el volcán" , Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Institute of Geophysics), Mexico City (Mexico), Dec 3, 2024

[invited seminar] Sébastien Valade (2024) "Mecanismos de construcción y destrucción de domos de lava en el volcán Popocatépetl", Institute Seminar, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (Institute of Geophysics), Mexico City (Mexico), Apr 24, 2024

[invited talk] Sébastien Valade (2024) "Volcano monitoring assisted by Deep Learning: experience from the satellite monitoring system MOUNTS", DEEPVOLC meetings, Leeds (UK), Mar 20, 2024

[invited talk] Sébastien Valade (2024) "MOUNTS Monitoring Unrest from Space", GDACS (Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System), Ispra (Italy), Feb 29, 2024

[talk] Sébastien Valade, Et. Al (2024) "Lava dome cycles at Popocatépetl: insights into shallow magma dynamics from multiparametric satellite datasets", Cities on Volcanoes 12, Antigua Guatemala (Guatemala), Feb 11, 2024 — Feb 17, 2024

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Lectures

Digital Image Processing for Remote Sensing
This class is a general introduction to Digital Image Processing, with special focus on remote sensing applications using Google Earth Engine (GEE) and its Python API. It was taught at UNAM in 2024, as part of the Licenciatura en Geografía Aplicada in the Escuela Nacional de Ciencias de la Tierra (ENCIT).
Sébastien Valade
Last updated on May 29, 2024
Digital Image Processing for Remote Sensing
Computer Vision for Geosciences: from classical methods to modern approaches using Deep Learning
This class is a general introduction to Computer Vision methods relevant in geosciences. It teaches both classical and machine learning based techniques. It was taught at UNAM in 2021 and 2024.
Sébastien Valade
Last updated on Dec 1, 2024
Computer Vision for Geosciences: from classical methods to modern approaches using Deep Learning

Funded projects

OMEGA: Observatorio Mundial de Erupciones Guiado por Inteligencia Artificial
Leverage cloud-based data and deep learning strategies to enhance the MOUNTS monitoring system into a global intelligent volcano observatory powered by AI.

Role:   Principal Investigator (PI)

Funding period:   2025/01 — 2028/01

Funding source:   UNAM DGAPA PAPIIT (IN114625)

Infrasonic surveillance system for explosive eruptions at Popocatépetl
Implementation of an infrasonic monitoring system at Popocatépetl, similar to that operating at Etna (Ripepe et al. 2018).

Role:   Principal Investigator (PI)

Funding period:   2024/09 — 2026/03

Funding source:   SECTEI

Infrasonic surveillance system for explosive eruptions at Popocatépetl
Classification and formation processes of lava lakes
Study of active lava lake formation and potential drainage processes.

Role:   Collaborator (PI=Robin Campion)

Funding period:   2023/01 — 2025/01

Funding source:   UNAM DGAPA PAPIIT (IN112923)

Linking space and ground-based observations for better understanding and prediction of eruptive crises
Study of eruptive processes through the combined quantification of topographic changes in active craters using satellite-based SAR amplitude imagery, and the evolution of degassing rates using ground-based infrasonic arrays.

Role:   Principal Investigator (PI)

Funding period:   2021/01 — 2023/01

Funding source:   UNAM DGAPA PAPIIT (IA102221)

MOUNTS-AI: artificial intelligence for volcano monitoring
Deep Learning strategies in support of operational volcano monitoring.

Role:   Principal Investigator (PI)

Funding period:   2019/04 — 2019/10

Funding source:   Geo.X seed funding

MOUNTS-AI: artificial intelligence for volcano monitoring
MOUNTS: Monitoring Unrest from Space
Space-based volcano monitoring platform powered by Sentinel (-1, -2, -5P) and Deep Learning.

Role:   Principal Investigator (PI)

Funding period:   2017/04 — 2019/04

Funding source:   Geo.X

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MOUNTS: Monitoring Unrest from Space
MODAPLUMES: Models and Data for Plumes
Retrieval of volcanic ash plume source parameters by coupling infrared imagery with fluid-dynamic models.

Role:   Principal Investigator (PI)

Funding period:   2012/12

Funding source:   MEMOVOLC european young researcher travel grant

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