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Satellite monitoring of active volcanoes using Short-Wave Infrared (SWIR) observations

F. Marchese1, E. Ciancia1, A. Falconieri1, N. Genzano2, C. Filizzola1, G. Mazzeo1, S. Plank3, N. Pergola1

  • Affiliations: 1 Institute of Methodologies for Environmental Analysis (IMAA), National Research Council (CNR), Tito Scalo, Pz, Italy 2 Department of Architecture, Built Environment and Construction Engineering (ABC), Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy 3 German Aerospace Center DLR, German Remote Sensing Data Center, Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany

  • Presentation type: Poster

  • Presentation time: Monday 16:30 - 18:30, Room Poster Hall

  • Poster Board Number: 143

  • Programme No: 3.1.35

  • Theme 3 > Session 1

Abstract

Satellite observations in the SWIR (short wave infrared) region (1-2.5 µm) were widely exploited in the past to analyze hot targets using ASTER (Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) and TM (Thematic Mapper)/ETM+ (Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus) sensors of the previous Landsat series. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Multispectral Instrument (MSI), respectively onboard Landsat 8/9 and Sentinel 2 satellites, have encouraged the development of new methods capable of better mapping hot targets in daylight conditions, when their identification in the SWIR bands is more challenging. The Normalized Hotspot Indices (NHI) by exploiting SWIR radiances from those sensors enable an accurate analysis, identification and mapping of high-temperature volcanic features (e.g., lava flows/lava lakes). In this study, we present the results achieved using the NHI to investigate and monitor recent volcanic eruptions (e.g., Etna, Kilauea, Mauna Loa, Home Reef) also through Himawari-8 AHI (Advanced Himawari Imager), GOES-R ABI (Advanced Baseline Imager) and Sentinel-3 SLSTR (Sea and Land Surface Temperature Radiometer) data at higher temporal resolution. Results show that daytime/night-time SWIR observations may highly support the monitoring of active volcanoes enabling also the quantitative characterization of volcanic thermal features. In this direction, the NHI algorithm, running operational under the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, may provide a relevant contribution to the surveillance of active volcanoes from space.