Using EO-1 Hyperion Data as HyspIRI Preparatory Data Sets for Volcanology Applied to Mt Etna, Italy

Abstract

One of the main goals of the Hyperspectral and Infrared Imager (HyspIRI) mission is to provide global observations of surface attributes at local and landscape spatial scales (tens of meters to hundreds of kilometers) to map volcanic gases and surface temperatures, which are identified as indicators of impending volcanic hazards, as well as plume ejecta which pose risks to aircraft and people and property downwind. Our project has created precursor HyspIRI data sets for volcanological analyses, using existing data over Mt. Etna, Italy. We have identified 28 EO-1 Hyperion data acquisitions, and 12 near-coincident ASTER data acquisitions, covering six eruptive periods between 2001 and 2010. These data sets provide us with 30 m hyperspectral VSWIR data and 90 m multispectral TIR data (satellite). They allowed us to examine temporal sequences of several Etnaean eruptions. We addressed the following critical questions, directly related to understanding eruption hazards: 1) What do changes in SO2 emissions tell us about a volcano's activity? How well do these measurements compare with ground-based COSPEC measurements? 2) How do we use measurements of lava flow temperature and volume to predict advances of the flow front? 3) What do changes in lava lake temperatures and energy emissions tell us about possible eruptive behavior?