Abstract
Satellite-derived data, including an estimation of the eruption rate, proximal volcanic deposits and lava flow morphometric parameters (area, maximum length, thickness, and volume) are provided for the eruption that occurred at Mt Etna on 6–8 December 2015. This eruption took place at the New Southeast Crater (NSEC), the youngest of the summit craters of Etna, shortly after a sequence of four violent paroxysmal events took place in 65 h (3–5 December) at “Voragine”, the oldest summit crater. Multispectral SEVIRI images at 15 min sampling time have been used to compute time-averaged eruption rate curves, while tri-stereo Pléiades images, at 50 cm spatial resolution, provided the pre-eruptive topography and topographic changes due to volcanic deposits. In addition to the two types of satellite data, other parameters have been inferred, such as probable vesicularity and pyroclastic deposits.
Highlights
Satellite-derived data, including an estimation of the eruption rate, proximal volcanic deposits and lava flow morphometric parameters are provided for the eruption that occurred at Mt Etna on 6–8 December 2015
The new generation of Earth observation satellites has the ability to increase acquisition capacity, allowing nearby areas to be acquired during the same orbit at multiple views, i.e., from different incidence angles [5]. This aspect greatly improves the 3D mapping of the Earth surface from optical satellite images allowing the generation of very high-resolution digital elevation models [6]
time averaged discharge rate (TADR) curves are provided as tab delimited text file (Supplementary Material, TADR&Volume.txt), with the following format: date expressed in Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) as dd/mm/yy hh.mm; minimum, mean and maximum value for TADR expressed in m3 /s; minimum, mean and maximum value for cumulative volume in m3
Summary
The increased availability of a multitude of satellite data opens new frontiers for volcano monitoring [1]. I.e., multiple wavelengths, it is possible to characterize a single pixel by retrieving subpixel portions at different temperatures and computing the radiant heat flux associated with a thermal event [2] This radiant heat flux, if related to a lava flow, can be converted in time averaged discharge rate (TADR), i.e., an estimation of the rate of emission of the flow [3]. The new generation of Earth observation satellites has the ability to increase acquisition capacity, allowing nearby areas to be acquired during the same orbit at multiple views, i.e., from different incidence angles [5] This aspect greatly improves the 3D mapping of the Earth surface from optical satellite images allowing the generation of very high-resolution digital elevation models [6]. DEMs, TADR curves and volumes estimates to be used to control lava flow morphological parameters, infer a minimum magma supply rate, and assist computer simulations of lava flow paths for hazard assessment studies
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