Historically Dormant Volcanoes Showing Unrest in Ethiopia [VIDEOS]

Two Ethiopian volcanoes historically believed to be dormant are showing signs of unrest, according to a volcanologist who used satellite data to analyze the otherwise unmonitored mountains.

Juliet Biggs of the University of Bristol's school of earth sciences said the satellite data shows evidence a number of volcanoes within the East African Rift are deforming - typically a harbinger of eruption.

"What I've actually seen using satellites is that these volcanoes are deforming -- it means their surfaces are uplifting and subsiding -- this is something typically attributed to magma accumulating and moving around underneath the surface," Biggs said in a video interview.

She went on to say that the deformation is sign of volcanic unrest and is often interpreted as pre-eruptive activity.

"We're very curious to find out what's causing this unrest," Biggs said in a statement.

There are a number of volcanoes that make up a chain through the East African Rift, and many of them are unstudied and unmonitored.

Volcanoes known as Alutu and Corbetti showed the biggest deformation signals, which Biggs said was surprising because the two mountains have not been studied very much.

"There's no monitoring and no background information regarding historical eruptions," she said.

But now that Biggs has demonstrated there is something worth monitoring at the Ethiopian volcanoes, other researchers have taken interest. An array of solar-powered monitoring devices has been installed around the mountains and researchers are eager to gather more data.

As Biggs and her colleagues gain a better understanding of the geophysical processes underlying these volcanoes, it will enable them to evaluate risk and enhance monitoring efforts.