A team of New Zealand researchers will use drones to probe White Island’s toxic volcanic cloud, harnessing data that could give early warning of an eruption.

White Island is the nation’s most active volcano, and a major eruption could wreak aviation havoc and spray poisonous ash over the Bay of Plenty coast.

Researchers funded by the Earthquake Commission will deploy custom-built quadcopters to measure gases in the densest parts of the plume, which are too hazardous to approach in person.

The super-light drones can be easily carried to the launch site, and feature a special housing for their electronics to protect against water and acid gases.

Research leader Ian Schipper says gas analysis can give vital clues about what is happening inside the volcano.

“Gases sometimes change before an eruption,” Dr Schipper said.

“We know that carbon dioxide is released from very deep in the system and sulphur dioxide is released at a shallower level.

“So if we see the carbon/sulphur ratios go up, it indicates there is fresh magma entering the system from great depth.”

Earthquake Commission Science and Education Manager Richard Smith says the project may bring major scientific advances.

“This will let volcanologists get a much better idea of how plume chemistry works, and what the plume is doing to the local atmosphere,” he said.

“Using the drones will also make it much easier to keep a regular eye on volcanic activity, so we have more opportunity to reduce the impact of an eruption.”

Dr Schipper told insuranceNEWS.com.au his team will not be monitoring the volcano on a daily basis – that task falls to GNS Science, which has three web cameras, one seismograph and a microphone installed on the island.

But he says the work may lead to long-term improvements in monitoring.

“This is just the beginning,” he said. “Effective monitoring requires continuous data streams, but who knows where we are going? Maybe one day there will be a drone there all the time that can fly autonomously into the plume.”