Abstract
Etna's January 2011 eruption provided an excellent opportunity to test the ability of Meteosat Second Generation satellite's Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) sensor to track a short-lived effusive event. The presence of lava fountaining, the rapid expansion of lava flows, and the complexity of the resulting flow field make such events difficult to track from the ground. During the Etna's January 2011 eruption, we were able to use thermal data collected by SEVIRI every 15 min to generate a time series of the syn-eruptive heat flux. Lava discharge waxed over a ~1-h period to reach a peak that was first masked from the satellite view by a cold tephra plume and then was of sufficient intensity to saturate the 3.9-μm channel. Both problems made it impossible to estimate time-averaged lava discharge rates using the syn-eruptive heat flux curve. Therefore, through integration of data obtained by ground-based Doppler radar and thermal cameras, as well as ancillary satellite data (from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer), we developed a method that allowed us to identify the point at which effusion stagnated, to allow definition of a lava cooling curve. This allowed retrieval of a lava volume of ~1.2 × 106 m3, which, if emitted for 5 h, was erupted at a mean output rate of ~70 m3 s−1. The lava volume estimated using the cooling curve method is found to be similar to the values inferred from field measurements.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aloisi M, D'Agostino M, Dean KG, Mostaccio A, Neri G (2002) Satellite analysis and PUFF simulation of the eruptive cloud generated by the Mount Etna paroxysm of 22 July 1998. J Geophys Res B12(107):2373. doi:10.1029/2001JB000630
Aries SA, Harris AJL, Rothery DA (2001) Remote infrared detection of the cessation of volcanic eruptions. Geophys Res Lett 28(9):1803–1807
Behncke B, Neri M, Pecora E, Zanon V (2006) The exceptional activity and growth of the Southeast Crater, Mount Etna (Italy), between 1996 and 2001. Bull Volcanol 69:149–173. doi:10.1007/s00445-006-0061-x
Bertrand C, Clerbaux N, Ipe A, Gonzales L (2003) Estimation of the 2002 Mount Etna eruption cloud radiative forcing from Meteosat-7 data. Rem Sens Env 87:257–272
Bonaccorso A, Bonforte A, Calvari S, Del Negro C, Di Grazia G, Ganci G, Neri M, Vicari A, Boschi E (2011) The initial phases of the 2008–2009 Mt. Etna eruption: a multi-disciplinary approach for hazard assessment. J Geophys Res 116:B03203. doi:10.1029/2010JB007906
Calvari S, Pinkerton H (2002) Instabilities in the summit region of Mount Etna during the 1999 eruption. Bull Volcanol 63:526–535
Calvari S, Salerno G, Spampinato L, Gouhier M, La Spina A, Pecora E, Harris AJL, Labazuy P, Biale E, Boschi E (2011) Exploring Etna's 11–13 January 2011 fire fountaining episode: a glimpse into the shallow feeding system from the integration of remote sensing data. J Geophys Res. doi:10.1029/2011JB008407
Donnadieu F, Dubosclard G, Cordesses R, Druitt TH, Hervier C, Kornprobst J, Lénat JF, Allard P, Coltelli M (2005) Remotely monitoring volcanic activity with ground-based Doppler radar. EOS Trans 86(21):201–204
Donnadieu F, Hervier C, Fréville P, Fournet-Fayard J, Fournol JF, Menny P, Reymond C, and Bernard C (2009) The VOLDORAD 2B radar: operational handbook. OPGC Note 0709, Université Blaise Pascal Clermont-Ferrand
Harris AJL (1996) Low spatial resolution thermal monitoring of volcanoes from space. PhD theses, The Open University, UK, p 315
Harris AJL, Keszthelyi L, Flynn LP, Mouginis-Mark PJ, Thornber C, Kauahikaua J, Sherrod D, Trusdell F, Sawyer MW, Flament P (1997a) Chronology of the Episode 54 eruption at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, from GOES-9 satellite data. Geophys Res Lett 24(24):3281–3284
Harris AJL, Blake S, Rothery DA, Stevens NF (1997b) A chronology of the 1991 to 1993 Etna eruption using AVHRR data: implications for real time thermal volcano monitoring. J Geophys Res 102(B4):7985–8003
Harris AJL, Pilger E, and Flynn LP (2002) Web-based hot spot monitoring using GOES: what it is and how it works, Advances in Environmental Monitoring and Modeling. (http://www.kcl.ac.uk/kis/schools/hums/geog/advemm/vol1no3.html) 1(3), 5–36
Harris AJL, Dehn J, and Calvari S (2007) Lava effusion rate definition and measurement: 546 A review, Bull Volcanol 70:1–22
Harris AJL, Baloga SM (2009) Lava discharge rates from satellite measured heat flux. Geophys Res Lett 36:L19302. doi:10.1029/2009GL039717
Harris AJL, Thornber C (1999) Complex effusive events at Kilauea as documented by the GOES satellite and remote video cameras. Bull Volcanol 61(6):382–395
Harris AJL, Favalli M, Steffke A, Fornaciai A, Boschi E (2010) A relation between lava discharge rate, thermal insulation, and flow area set using Lidar data. Geophys Res Lett 37:L20308. doi:10.1029/2010GL044683
Holasek R, Self S (1995) GOES weather satellite observations and measurements of the May 18, 1980, Mount St. Helens eruption. J Geophys Res 100(B5):8469–8487
Holasek RE, Self S, Woods AW (1996) Satellite observations and interpretation of the 1991 Mount Pinatubo eruption plumes. J Geophys Res 101(B12):27635–27655
Iqbal M (1983) An introduction to solar radiation. Academic Press Canada (Ontario), 390 p
Labazuy P, Gouhier M, Harris A, Guéhenneux Y, Hervo M, Bergès JC, Cacault P, Rivet S (2011) Near real-time monitoring of the April-May 2010 Eyjafjallajökull ash cloud: an example of a Web-based, satellite-data-driven, reporting system. Int J Environment and Pollution. In Press
Newhall GG, Self S (1982) The Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI): an estimate of explosive magnitude of historic eruptions. J Geophys Res 87:1231–1238
Oppenheimer C, Francis PW, Rothery DA, Carlton RWT, Glaze LS (1993) Infrared image analysis of volcanic thermal features: Lascar Volcano, Chile 1984–1992. J Geophys Res 98:4269–4286
Richter DH, Eaton JP, Murata KJ, Ault WU, Krivoy HL (1970) Chronological narrative of the 1959–1960 eruption of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii. US Geol Surv Prof Pap 537RE:1–73
Wolfe EW, Garcia MO, Jackson DB, Koyanagy RY, Neal CA, Okamura AT (1988) The Pu’u’O’o eruption of Kilauea volcano, episodes 1 through 20, January 3, 1983, to June 8, 1984. US Geological Survey Professional Paper 1350:471–508
Wright R, Flynn L (2004) Space-based estimate of the volcanic heat flux into the atmosphere during 2001 and 2002. Geology 32:189–192
Wright R, Blake S, Harris A, Rothery D (2001) A simple explanation for the space-based calculation of lava eruptions rates. Earth Planet Sci Lett 192:223–233. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(01)00443-5
Acknowledgements
This is Laboratory of Excellence ClerVolc contribution no. 3. This work was supported by the Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales (CNES-France) and CNRS-INSU. SEVIRI data were provided by the OPGC reception center through agreement with EUMETSAT and MétéoFrance. AVHRR data were provided by the NERC Earth Observation Data Acquisition and Analysis Service (NEODAAS) at the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (Plymouth, UK).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Editorial responsibility: M. Manga
Electronic Supplementary Materials
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
ESM 1
(DOC 38 kb)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gouhier, M., Harris, A., Calvari, S. et al. Lava discharge during Etna's January 2011 fire fountain tracked using MSG-SEVIRI. Bull Volcanol 74, 787–793 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-011-0572-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-011-0572-y