The Observatory of Martinique - OVSM

Volcanological and Seismological observatory of Martinique

Observatory volcanologic and seismological of Martinique,
Morne des Cadets, 97250 Fonds Saint Denis - Martinique FWI.
Tel.: (0) 5 96 78 41 41 - Fax: (0) 5 96 55 80 80 - International: +596

After the eruption of 1902, A. Lacroix made build an observatory that functioned until 1925. The volcano not giving more signs of activity, it was decided to stop the observations four years before the great eruption of 1929-1932!
It was then decided the construction of the current observatory. At that time the equipment was primarily made up of seismographs, the most spectacular being a "Quervain-Picardy" of 20 tons.
After the eruption of the Soufrière of Guadeloupe in 1976, the monitoring network of Martinique was modernized. It currently comprises a score of geophysical stations. All the data is transmitted by radio signals to the observatory where they are automatically processed by computer. In addition there are a series of periodic measurements taken by the personnel of the observatory such as geochemistry, level measures, and distances variations.

The OVSM provide information about the volcanic and seismologic activity through its monthly bulletins. And a quasi-real time photograph of the "Montagne Pelée"