Active Lava Lake Research Articles

Seismic characteristics of variable convection at Erta ʻAle lava lake, Ethiopia

The active summit lava lake of Erta ʻAle volcano, Ethiopia, offers a unique opportunity to study magma convection. In February 2002, we collected a multiparametric set of seismic, thermal and video data. These data indicate that the lake cycled between periods characterized by low (0.01–0.08 m s − 1 ) and high (0.1–0.4 m s − 1 ) convection rates, typically lasting tens to hundreds of minutes. Three seismometers placed around the active crater recorded continuous tremor with a dominant frequency of 2 Hz, and energy at frequencies from 0.8 to 12 Hz. Here, we characterize the seismic signature of each regime by its spectral content, wavefield polarization, and tremor source location. For both regimes, the wavefield is mostly rectilinear. Azimuths and incidence angles are consistent with P waves originating in one of two locations: the north edge of the active lava lake, or a region 100–150 m ENE of the lava lake. Because both regimes are dominated by a low frequency, rectilinearly polarized wavefield, we investigate the source location using a method that solves for location and isotropic source power by a weighted least-squares amplitude-based inversion of seismic data. We find that tremor source regions are unique to each convective regime, although some location overlap exists when tremor is located in short time windows. Wavefield composition suggests that the convective phases may share a common source process, but their differing locations indicate that either the source region is non-stationary, or a second source skews the location during the high convective phase. Tremor polarization and location suggests that the low-frequency tremor is caused by bubble coalescence and bursting in a conduit whose surface is the lava lake. The higher frequency signal associated with the high convective regime is associated with a scattered, more complex wavefield superimposed on the low-frequency background tremor, caused by bubble bursting and cracking of cooled crust at the lava lake surface.

Monitoring active volcanism with the Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment on EO-1

The ability to monitor and rapidly react to remote detection of volcanic activity has been greatly improved through use of the Autonomous Sciencecraft Experiment (ASE), an advanced software application installed on a spacecraft in Earth orbit. ASE is a NASA New Millennium Program experiment demonstrating science-driven autonomous command and control of a spacecraft. Flying on the Earth Observing-1 ( EO-1) spacecraft, ASE successfully detected thermal emission from the Mt. Erebus lava lake on 7 May 2004, having analyzed a Hyperion hyperspectral data product on board the spacecraft. EO-1 was re-tasked by ASE to obtain a follow-up observation 7 h later and sent a notification of detection of volcanic activity to the ground. The entire process was carried out autonomously. Initial acquisition to receipt on the ground of the positive detection took less than 3 h, a process that without ASE would have taken weeks. The ASE Thermal Classifier has detected several styles of effusive volcanic activity: active lava lakes, pahoehoe flow fields, open channel flows and lava domes. ASE successfully demonstrated that science-driven spacecraft operation greatly enhances science return per returned byte through the identification of the most valuable data, allowing prioritization of downlink products and the discarding of null data sets. This technology has applications on missions elsewhere in the solar system. Modified thermal classifiers can be used for detecting and monitoring active volcanism on the jovian satellite Io, the neptunian moon Triton, and searching for active volcanism on Mars and icy satellites. The success of ASE is an incentive for future instrument and mission designers to consider on-board data-processing requirements (especially data storage capacity, number of processors and processor speed, and RAM) in order to take advantage of this flight-proven technology.

Mt. Erebus, the largest point source of NO2 in Antarctica

Abstract We report here the first observations of NO 2 emission from Mt. Erebus, a volcano with an active lava lake located on Ross Island, Antarctica. Erebus generates a persistent plume, which is entrained at an altitude of about 4 km above sea level. Its NO 2 flux, measured by scattered light ultraviolet spectroscopy in December 2003, was equivalent to ∼0.6 Gg (N) yr −1 . The total reactive nitrogen supply may be significantly higher than this since other NO y species are likely to have been present in the plume. We believe the NO 2 is generated by thermal fixation of atmospheric nitrogen at the hot lava surface, forming NO, which then reacts rapidly with oxidants including ozone to yield NO 2 . Erebus volcano has displayed lava lake activity for many decades and may, therefore, play a significant long-term role in Antarctic tropospheric chemistry, and represent an important source of nitrogen deposited to the ice surface.

Volcanic activity at Tvashtar Catena, Io

Galileo's Solid State Imager (SSI) observed Tvashtar Catena four times between November 1999 and October 2001, providing a unique look at a distinctive high latitude volcanic complex on Io. The first observation (orbit I25, November 1999) resolved, for the first time, an active extraterrestrial fissure eruption; the brightness temperature was at least 1300 K. The second observation (orbit I27, February 2000) showed a large ( ∼ 500 km 2 ) region with many, small, hot, regions of active lava. The third observation was taken in conjunction with Cassini imaging in December 2000 and showed a Pele-like, annular plume deposit. The Cassini images revealed an ∼ 400 km high Pele-type plume above Tvashtar Catena. The final Galileo SSI observation of Tvashtar (orbit I32, October 2001), revealed that obvious (to SSI) activity had ceased, although data from Galileo's Near Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) indicated that there was still significant thermal emission from the Tvashtar region. In this paper, we primarily analyze the style of eruption during orbit I27 (February 2000). Comparison with a lava flow cooling model indicates that the behavior of the Tvashtar eruption during I27 does not match that of simple advancing lava flows. Instead, it may be an active lava lake or a complex set of lava flows with episodic, overlapping eruptions. The highest reliable color temperature is ∼ 1300 K . Although higher temperatures cannot be ruled out, they do not need to be invoked to fit the observed data. The total power output from the active lavas in February 2000 was at least 10 11 W .

Analysis of volcanic activity patterns using MODIS thermal alerts

We investigate eruptive activity by analysis of thermal-alert data from the MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectrometer) thermal infrared satellite instrument, detected by the MODVOLC (MODIS Volcano alert) algorithm. These data are openly available on the Internet, and easy to use. We show how such data can plug major gaps in the conventional monitoring record of volcanoes in an otherwise generally poorly documented region (Melanesia), including: characterising the mechanism of lava effusion at Pago; demonstrating an earlier-than-realised onset of lava effusion at Lopevi; extending the known period of lava lake activity at Ambrym; and confirming ongoing activity at Bagana, Langila and Tinakula. We also add to the record of activity even at some generally better-monitored volcanoes in Indonesia, but point out that care must be taken to recognise and exclude fires.

DUCKS: Low cost thermal monitoring units for near-vent deployment

During 1999 we designed and tested a thermal monitoring system to provide a cheap, robust, modular, real-time system capable of surviving the hostile conditions encountered proximal to active volcanic vents. In November 2000 the first system was deployed at Pu'u 'O'o (Kilauea, Hawai'i) to target persistently active vents. Aside from some minor problems, such as sensor damage due to tampering, this system remained operational until January 2004. The success of the prototype system led us to use the blueprint for a second installation at Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy). This was deployed, dug into a bomb-proof bunker, during May 2002 and survived the April 2003 paroxysmal eruption despite being located just 250 m from the vent. In both cases, careful waterproofing of connectors and selection of suitable protection has prevented water damage and corrosion in the harsh atmosphere encountered at the crater rim. The Pu'u 'O'o system cost ∼US$10,000 and comprises four modules: sensors, transmission and power hub, repeater station and reception site. The sensor component consists of three thermal infrared thermometers housed in Pelican™ cases fitted with Germanium–Arsenide–Selenium windows. Two 1° field of view (FOV) sensors allow specific vents to be targeted and a 60° FOV sensor provides a crater floor overview. A hard wire connection links to a Pelican™-case-housed microprocessor, modem and power module. From here data are transmitted, via a repeater site, to a dedicated PC at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Here data are displayed with a delay of ∼3 s between acquisition and display. The modular design allows for great flexibility. At Stromboli, 1° and 15° FOV sensor modules can be switched depending changes in activity style and crater geometry. In addition a direct line of site to the Stromboli reception center negates the repeater site requirement, reducing the cost to US$5500 for a single sensor system. We have also constructed self-contained units with internal data loggers for US$1500/unit. These have been tested at Kilauea, Stromboli, Etna, Masaya, Santiaguito, Fuego, Pacaya, Poas, Soufriere Hills, Villarrica and Erta Ale. These instruments have proved capable of detecting thermal signals associated with: (1) gas emission; (2) gas jetting events; (3) crater floor collapse; (4) lava effusion; (5) lava flow in tubes; (6) lava lake activity; (7) lava dome activity; and (8) crater lake skin temperature.

Identification of variable convective regimes at Erta Ale Lava Lake

During February 17–19, 2002, we collected a combined thermal and seismic data set for persistent lava lake activity at Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia. These data indicate that the lake cycled between periods characterized by low (0.01–0.08 m s −1) and high (0.1–0.4 m s −1) surface velocities, typically lasting tens to hundreds of minutes. These periods of high and low velocity motion define periods of vigorous and sluggish convection, respectively. Spectral analysis revealed that vigorous convection periods were characterized by high frequencies and energies in the thermal data and an increased presence of high-frequency energy in the seismic data. The data show that vigorous periods were characterized by formation of hot, short-lived, plastic crusts, and sluggish periods by cooler, longer lived, brittle crusts. Here, the higher transit velocity across the lake surface from upwelling zones of crust formation to downwelling zones of crust destruction during the vigorous periods decreases the crust lifetime. This in turn decreases the total cooling and thickening experienced by a plate of crust moving across the lake surface. Two scenarios can be envisaged to explain such convection cycles. The first relates variable convection rates to changes in the volume flux and rheology of magma entering the lake. In the second, cyclic convection is set up by the generation of convective instabilities within the lake. In this case, cooling of a surface layer generates a slow moving, viscous, increasingly dense convection layer at the lake surface which is consumed and replaced during overturn.

Combined thermal and seismic analysis of the Villarrica volcano lava lake, Chile

Villarrica volcano, a 2,850 m basaltic-andesite stratocone in southern Chile ((39°25' S-71°42' W), has had an active summit lava lake (30-60 m diameter) since the last eruption in 1984-85. Current activity is characterised by mild strombolian activity, continuous degassing, and periodic larger explosions. Between August-December 1999, Villarrica showed a significant increase in seismic activity. Lava lake activity increased and larger discrete explosions occurred destroying the lava lake crust on, at least, 4 occasions. Since February 1999, radiance data provided by the NOAA GOES 8 satellite via the University of Hawaii hot spot monitoring web-site served, as an additional real time monitoring method of the lava lake. Preliminary GOES data, for the period February-December 1999, have been correlated with seismic RSAM data and visual observations. Correlations exist between these data sets only for the most active periods. At Villarrica, the small dimensional and temporal exposure of the lava lake surface and the narrow crater coupled with a low satellite viewing angle generate a very subtle hot spot signature. Radiance variations can only provide reliable data where adequate constraining ground information exists and viewing conditions are optimal. However, the hot spot tool, once refined is considered a potentially important method of improving the monitoring capabilities.

First recorded eruption of Mount Belinda volcano (Montagu Island), South Sandwich Islands

The MODVOLC satellite monitoring system has revealed the first recorded eruption of Mount Belinda volcano, on Montagu Island in the remote South Sandwich Islands. Here we present some initial qualitative observations gleaned from a collection of satellite imagery covering the eruption, including MODIS, Landsat 7 ETM+, ASTER, and RADARSAT-1 data. MODVOLC thermal alerts indicate that the eruption started sometime between 12 September and 20 October 2001, with low-intensity subaerial explosive activity from the island’s summit peak, Mount Belinda. By January 2002 a small lava flow had been emplaced near the summit, and activity subsequently increased to some of the highest observed levels in August 2002. Observations from passing ships in February and March 2003 provided the first visual confirmation of the eruption. ASTER images obtained in August 2003 show that the eruption at Mount Belinda entered a new phase around this time, with fresh lava effusion into the surrounding icefield. MODIS radiance trends also suggest that the overall activity level increased significantly after July 2003. Thermal anomalies continued to be observed in MODIS imagery in early 2004, indicating a prolonged low-intensity eruption and the likely establishment of a persistent summit lava lake, similar to that observed on neighboring Saunders Island in 2001. Our new observations also indicate that lava lake activity continues on Saunders Island.

Observations and temperatures of Io's Pele Patera from Cassini and Galileo spacecraft images

Pele has been the most intense high-temperature hotspot on Io to be continuously active during the Galileo monitoring from 1996–2001. A suite of characteristics suggests that Pele is an active lava lake inside a volcanic depression. In 2000–2001, Pele was observed by two spacecraft, Cassini and Galileo. The Cassini observations revealed that Pele is variable in activity over timescales of minutes, typical of active lava lakes in Hawaii and Ethiopia. These observations also revealed that the short-wavelength thermal emission from Pele decreases with rotation of Io by a factor significantly greater than the cosine of the emission angle, and that the color temperature becomes more variable and hotter at high emission angles. This behavior suggests that a significant portion of the visible thermal emission from Pele comes from lava fountains within a topographically confined lava body. High spatial resolution, nightside images from a Galileo flyby in October 2001 revealed a large, relatively cool (<800 K) region, ringed by bright hotspots, and a central region of high thermal emission, which is hypothesized to be due to fountaining and convection in the lava lake. Images taken through different filters revealed color temperatures of 1500±80 K from Cassini ISS data and 1605±220 and 1420±100 K from small portions of Galileo SSI data. Such temperatures are near the upper limit for basaltic compositions. Given the limitations of deriving lava eruption temperature in the absence of in situ measurement, it is possible that Pele has lavas with ultramafic compositions. The long-lived, vigorous activity of what is most likely an actively overturning lava lake in Pele Patera indicates that there is a strong connection to a large, stable magma source region.

Sulfur, heat, and magma budget of Erta ‘Ale lava lake, Ethiopia

We report here the first measurements of the SO 2 flux from Erta 'Ale volcano (Ethiopia); the measurements were obtained in March 2003 with a portable ultraviolet spectrometer. Emission rates averaged 0.7 kg.s - 1 from the active lava lake and 1.3 kg.s - 1 from the whole volcano (including fumarolic emissions in the north part of the caldera). This modest output combined with an estimate of the melt sulfur content indicates a magma-supply rate of 350-650 kg.s - 1 (∼0.13-0.25 m 3 .s - 1 ). Radiant heat power from the lava lake, measured by infrared thermography, was found to vary between ∼5 and 30 MW according to activity of the lake surface and time elapsed since resurfacing events. We show that 8%-14% crystallization and/or 30-60 °C cooling of the upwelling magma reaching the lake, as well as degassing, are sufficient to increase magma density in the upper conduit and drive convection between the surface and a feeding reservoir. Fluctuations in the system, such as degree of vesiculation and magma supply rate, can be buffered by ascent or descent of the magma level within a flared vent region whose geometry directly controls lake surface area and hence heat loss.

Field temperature measurements at Erta'Ale Lava Lake, Ethiopia

The shield volcano Erta'Ale, situated in the Danakil Depression, Ethiopia, is known for its active lava lake. In February 2001, our team visited this lake, located inside an 80-m-deep pit, to perform field temperature measurements. The distribution and variation of temperature inside the lake were obtained on the basis of infrared radiation measurements performed from the rim of the pit and from the lake shores. The crust temperature was also determined from the lake shores with a thermocouple to calibrate the pyrometer. We estimated an emissivity of the basalt of 0.74 from this experiment. Through the application of the Stefan-Boltzmann law, we then obtained an estimate of the total radiative heat flux, constrained by pyrometer measurements of the pit, and visual observations of the lake activity. Taking into account the atmospheric convective heat flux, the convected magma mass flux needed to balance the energy budget was subsequently derived and found to represent between 510 and 580 kg s–1. The surface circulation of this mass flux was also analyzed through motion processing techniques applied to video images of the lake. Electronic supplementary material to this paper can be obtained by using the Springer LINK server located at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00445-002-0224-3.

Thermal signature, eruption style, and eruption evolution at Pele and Pillan on Io

The Galileo spacecraft has been periodically monitoring volcanic activity on Io since June 1996, making it possible to chart the evolution of individual eruptions. We present results of coanalysis of Near‐Infrared Mapping Spectrometer (NIMS) and solid‐state imaging (SSI) data of eruptions at Pele and Pillan, especially from a particularly illuminating data set consisting of mutually constraining, near‐simultaneous NIMS and SSI observations obtained during orbit C9 in June 1997. The observed thermal signature from each hot spot, and the way in which the thermal signature changes with time, tightly constrains the possible styles of eruption. Pele and Pillan have very different eruption styles. From September 1996 through May 1999, Pele demonstrates an almost constant total thermal output, with thermal emission spectra indicative of a long‐lived, active lava lake. The NIMS Pillan data exhibit the thermal signature of a “Pillanian” eruption style, a large, vigorous eruption with associated open channel, or sheet flows, producing an extensive flow field by orbit C10 in September 1997. The high mass eruption rate, high liquidus temperature (at least 1870 K) eruption at Pillan is the best candidate so far for an active ultramafic (magnesium‐rich, “komatiitic”) flow on Io, a style of eruption never before witnessed. The thermal output per unit area from Pillan is, however, consistent with the emplacement of large, open‐channel flows. Magma temperature at Pele is ≥1600 K. If the magma temperature is 1600 K, it suggests a komatiitic‐basalt composition. The power output from Pele is indicative of a magma volumetric eruption rate of ∼250 to 340 m3 s−1. Although the Pele lava lake is considerably larger than its terrestrial counterparts, the power and mass fluxes per unit area are similar to active terrestrial lava lakes.

Genese du champ de lave de l'Enclos Fouque; une eruption d'envergure exceptionnelle du Piton de la Fournaise (Reunion) au 18 e siecle

Genese du champ de lave de l'Enclos Fouque; une eruption d'envergure exceptionnelle du Piton de la Fournaise (Reunion) au 18 e siecle

Automated, high temporal resolution, thermal analysis of Kilauea volcano, Hawai'i, using GOES satellite data

Thermal data are directly available from the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) every 15 minutes at existing or inexpensively installed receiving stations. This data stream is ideal for monitoring high temperature features such as active lava flows and fires. To provide a near-real-time hot spot monitoring tool, we have developed, tested and installed software to analyse GOES data on-reception and then make results available in a timely fashion via the web. Our software automatically: (1) produces hot spot images and movies; (2) uses a thresholding procedure to generate a hot spot map; (3) updates hot spot radiance and cloud index time series; and (4) issues a threshold-based e-mail alert. Results are added to http://volcano1.pgd.hawaii.edu/goes/ within ∼12 minutes of image acquisition and are updated every 15 minutes. Analysis of GOES data acquired for effusive activity at Kilauea volcano (Hawai'i) during 1997-98 show that short (<1 hour long) events producing 100m long (102 to 103 m2) lava flows are detectable. This means that time constraints can be placed on sudden, rapidly evolving efflusive events with an accuracy of 7.5 minutes. Changes in activity style and extent can also be documented using hot spot size, intensity and shape. From radiance time series we distinguish (1) tube-fed activity (low radiance, <10 MW m2 m-1); (2) activity pauses (no radiance); (3) lava lake activity (low radiance, <5 MW m2 m-1); (4) short (<3 km long) flow extension (moderate radiance, 10-20 MW m2 m 1 ); and (5) 12 km long flow extension (high radiance, 15-30 MW m2 m-1). The ability of GOES to detect short-lived effusive events, coupled with the speed with which GOES-based hot spot information can be processed and disseminated, means that GOES offers a valuable additional volcano monitoring tool.

Galileo at Io: Results from High-Resolution Imaging

During late 1999/early 2000, the solid state imaging experiment on the Galileo spacecraft returned more than 100 high-resolution (5 to 500 meters per pixel) images of volcanically active Io. We observed an active lava lake, an active curtain of lava, active lava flows, calderas, mountains, plateaus, and plains. Several of the sulfur dioxide-rich plumes are erupting from distal flows, rather than from the source of silicate lava (caldera or fissure, often with red pyroclastic deposits). Most of the active flows in equatorial regions are being emplaced slowly beneath insulated crust, but rapidly emplaced channelized flows are also found at all latitudes. There is no evidence for high-viscosity lava, but some bright flows may consist of sulfur rather than mafic silicates. The mountains, plateaus, and calderas are strongly influenced by tectonics and gravitational collapse. Sapping channels and scarps suggest that many portions of the upper approximately 1 kilometer are rich in volatiles.

Mass flux measurements at active lava lakes: Implications for magma recycling

Remotely sensed and field data can be used to estimate heat and mass fluxes at active lava lakes. Here we use a three thermal component pixel model with three bands of Landsat thematic mapper (TM) data to constrain the thermal structure of, and flux from, active lava lakes. Our approach considers that a subpixel lake is surrounded by ground at ambient temperatures and that the surface of the lake is composed of crusted and/or molten material. We then use TM band 6 (10.42–12.42 μm) with bands 3 (0.63–0.69 μm) or 4 (0.76–0.90 μm) and 5 (1.55–1.75 μm) or 7 (2.08–2.35 μm), along with field data (e.g., lava lake area), to place limits on the size and temperature of each thermal component. Previous attempts to achieve this have used two bands of TM data with a two‐component thermal model. Using our model results with further field data (e.g., petrological data) for lava lakes at Erebus, Erta 'Ale, and Pu'u 'O'o, we calculate combined radiative and convective fluxes of 11–20, 14–27 and 368–373 MW, respectively. These yield mass fluxes, of 30–76, 44–104 and 1553–2079 kg s−1, respectively. We also identify a hot volcanic feature at Nyiragongo during 1987 from which a combined radiative and convective flux of 0.2–0.6 MW implies a mass flux of 1–2 kg s−1. We use our mass flux estimates to constrain circulation rates in each reservoir‐conduit‐lake system and consider four models whereby circulation results in intrusion within or beneath the volcano (leading to endogenous or cryptic growth) and/or magma mixing in the reservoir (leading to recycling). We suggest that the presence of lava lakes does not necessarily imply endogenous or cryptic growth: lava lakes could be symptomatic of magma recycling in supraliquidus reservoirs.

Remote monitoring of Mount Erebus Volcano, Antarctica, using Polar Orbiters: Progress and Prospects

Mount Erebus (Antarctica) is a remote and inhospitable volcano, where field campaigns are possible only during the austral summer. In addition to continuously monitoring seismic instruments and video cameras, data from scanners flown aboard polar orbiting space-craft, such as the Thematic Mapper (TM) and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), can contribute to continuous, year-round monitoring of this volcano. Together these data allow measurement of the temperature of, thermal and gas flux from, and mass flux to a persistently active lava lake at Erebus' summit. The monitoring potential of such polar-orbiting instruments is enhanced by the poleward convergence of sub-spacecraft ground-tracks at the Erebus latitudes, permitting more frequent return periods than at the equator. Ground-based observations show that the Erebus lava lake was active with an area of ∼2800m2 and sulphur dioxide (SO2) flux of (230 +/- 90)td-1 prior to September 1984. AVHRR-based lake area and SO2 flux estimates are in good agreement with these measurements, giving (2320 +/- 1200)m2 and (190 +/- 100)td-1, respectively, during 1980. However during late-1984 the lava lake became buried, with TM data showing re-establishment of the lake, with a TM-derived surface temperature of 578-903 C, by January 1985. Following these events, ground-based lake area and SO2 flux measurements show that the lake area and SO2 flux was lower (180-630m2 and 9-91td-1, respectively). This is matched by a decline in the AVHRR- and TM-derived rate of magma supply to the lake from 330 167kgs-1 prior to 1984 to 30-76kgs-1 thereafter. Clearly, a reduction in magma supply to, and activity at, the lava lake occurred during 1984. We look forward to using data from such future polar-orbiting sensors as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS), Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer (ASTER), Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM+) and Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer (AASTR) to contribute to high (once a day) temporal resolution measurement and monitoring of activity at this volcano. Such analyses will in turn contribute to a more complete understanding of how this volcano works.

Satellite observations of Lava Lake activity at Nyiragongo volcano, ex-Zaire, during the Rwandan refugee crisis.

In June 1994 the summit crater of Nyiragongo volcano, located in the Great Lakes region of central Africa, began to fill with new lava, ending nearly 12 years of quiescence. An earlier eruption of the volcano in 1977 had culminated in the catastrophic draining of a lava lake through fissures in the crater wall, feeding highly mobile lava flows which reached the outskirts of Goma and killed more than 70 people. By July 1994, as many as 20,000 Hutu refugees were arriving in Goma every hour, only 18 km south from the summit of Nyiragongo. The exodus brought more than one million people to the camps near the town raising fears of a repeat of the 1977 eruption. This paper examines the role that satellite remote sensing could have played in surveillance of the volcano during this time, and demonstrates the potential for monitoring this and other volcanoes in the future. Images recorded by the spaceborne Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR)--freely available over the Internet--provide semi-quantitative information on the activity of the volcano. The aim of this paper is to promote the wider use of readily available technologies.

Remote sensing of heat, lava and fumarole emissions from Erta 'Ale volcano, Ethiopia

Erta 'Ale volcano, sited within the Afar Triangle of Ethiopia, is one of the least frequented, perennially active, subaerial volcanoes. By compiling a time series of Landsat MSS and TM, JERS-1, SPOT, and AVHRR digital imagery, and space-borne photographic data, we have been able to constrain the activity of this volcano, important for its geodynamic setting, during the long period since 1974 when volcanological investigations effectively ceased. Existing techniques for infrared thermometry have been modified to cope with saturation of the short wavelength infrared Landsat TM band 5 and 7 sensors, enabling derivation of thermal fluxes from Erta 'Ale's active lava lakes. Lake levels have been estimated from measurements of shadow lengths cast by the crater rim. Changes in caldera and flank reflectances identify new lava flows whose areas and volumes we have constrained in order to derive eruption magnitudes and effusion rates. Between 1968 and 1974, approximately 3 1010 kg of lava was erupted at peak discharge rates exceeding 400kg s -1, though much of this subsequently drained back or subsided rigidly. No post-1974 overflows were detected in the imagery, although thermal (100-400 MW) output from the lava lakes, and gas emissions appear to have been sustained up to the time of writing. The longevity of the lava lakes provides evidence for convective circulation between the lakes and a deeper magma reservoir. The high heat flux and low exogenous growth rates ( 10kg s -1 integrated over the last thirty years) are indicative of a volcano that 'grows' largely by magmatic intrusion, which is consistent with the formation of new igneous crust in the extensional tectonic environment of northern Afar.