Abstract
Abstract. Natural disasters incur many fatalities and economic losses for vulnerable and developing countries such as the Philippines. It is crucial that during calamities, on-ground surveillance is supplemented by low-cost and time-efficient methods such as satellite remote sensing. Diwata-2 is a Philippine microsatellite specifically equipped for disaster assessment. In this study, the capabilities of this satellite in ashfall detection were explored by closely examining the case of the Taal volcano eruption on January 12, 2020. Satellite images covering parts of CALABARZON and Metropolitan Manila before and after the phreatomagmatic eruption were compared. The presence and extent of heavy ash over the study area were identified after the image classification using the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm. A decrease in vegetation cover and built-up areas was also observed. Upon validation, an overall accuracy of 91.4562 and Kappa coefficient of 0.8833 were achieved for the post-eruption ashfall extent map, exhibiting the potential of Diwata-2 imagery in monitoring volcanic eruptions and similar phenomena.
Highlights
1.1 Background of the StudyFor the first time in 43 years, the Taal volcano — located in Talisay and San Nicolas, Batangas, Philippines — erupted last January 12, 2020, at 2:30 pm PST
One of the ways to do this is through the use of satellite imagery for remote sensing
This study aims to further explore the capabilities of Diwata-2 satellite imagery in ashfall dispersal mapping using the Support Vector Machine classification (SVM) algorithm
Summary
For the first time in 43 years, the Taal volcano — located in Talisay and San Nicolas, Batangas, Philippines — erupted last January 12, 2020, at 2:30 pm PST. A few hours later, plumes of hazardous particles and gases were released into the atmosphere. These were transported northward by high-altitude winds, causing an ashfall over the CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) region and even several locations in Metropolitan Manila that are 42 to 90 km away from the Taal volcano (Leung et al, 2020). One of the ways to do this is through the use of satellite imagery for remote sensing
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