Evolution of an active lava flow field using a multitemporal LIDAR acquisition

Abstract

Application of light detection and ranging (LIDAR) technology in volcanology has 7 developed rapidly over the past few years, being extremely useful for the generation 8 of high‐spatial‐resolution digital elevation models and for mapping eruption products. 9 However, LIDAR can also be used to yield detailed information about the dynamics of 10 lava movement, emplacement processes occuring across an active lava flow field, and the 11 volumes involved. Here we present the results of a multitemporal airborne LIDAR survey 12 flown to acquire data for an active flow field separated by time intervals ranging from 13 15 min to 25 h. Overflights were carried out over 2 d during the 2006 eruption of Mt. Etna, 14 Italy, coincident with lava emission from three ephemeral vent zones to feed lava flow in 15 six channels. In total 53 LIDAR images were collected, allowing us to track the volumetric 16 evolution of the entire flow field with temporal resolutions as low as ∼15 min and at a 17 spatial resolution of <1 m. This, together with accurate correction for systematic errors, 18 finely tuned DEM‐to‐DEM coregistration and an accurate residual error assessment, 19 permitted the quantification of the volumetric changes occuring across the flow field. We 20 record a characteristic flow emplacement mode, whereby flow front advance and channel 21 construction is fed by a series of volume pulses from the master vent. Volume pulses 22 have a characteristic morphology represented by a wave that moves down the channel 23 modifying existing channel‐levee constructs across the proximal‐medial zone and building 24 new ones in the distal zone. Our high‐resolution multitemporal LIDAR‐derived DEMs 25 allow calculation of the time‐averaged discharge rates associated with such a pulsed flow 26 emplacement regime, with errors under 1% for daily averaged values.