Field thermal monitoring during the August 2003 eruption at Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion)

Abstract

A detailed set of thermal images collected during the last day of the August 2003 eruption of Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion), clearly revealed several dynamic processes associated with a spatter cone containing a lava pond and feeding a channelized lava flow. Periods of steady effusion were interrupted by brief pulses of lava effusion that closely coincide with peaks in seismic tremor amplitude. The thermal measurements show that roofing of a lava channel during steady effusion and cooling of surface flows decrease thermal radiance in two different ways. Here we show that the decrease in thermal radiance because of channel roofing is not related to a decrease in volcanic activity, as might be interpreted from satellite data. In addition, we introduce a new method of representing thermal data (hereby named “Radiative Thermogramme”) that successfully describes thermal patterns produced by distinct eruptive processes within the same span of time. This graphic solution can be directly correlated with volcanic field processes and provides a useful tool for interpreting a high number of thermal data in a wide range of volcanic activities.