Monitoring active volcanoes using a handheld thermal camera

Bellingham, WA

Thermal imaging has recently been introduced in volcanology to analyse a number of different volcanic
processes. This system allows us to detect magma movements within the summit conduits of active volcanoes,
and then to reveal volcanic activity within the craters even through the thick curtain of gases usually released
by volcanoes such as Mt Etna and Stromboli. Thermal mapping is essential during effusive eruptions, since it
distinguishes lava flows of different age and concealed lava tubes’ path, improving hazard evaluation. Recently,
thermal imaging has also been applied to reveal failure planes and instability on the flanks of active volcanoes.
Excellent results have been obtained in terms of volcanic prediction during the two recent eruptions of Mt Etna
and Stromboli, both occurred in 2002-2003. On Etna, thermal images monthly recorded on the summit of the
volcano revealed the opening of fissure systems several months in advance. After the onset of the flank
eruption, daily thermal mapping allowed us to monitor a complex lava flow field spreading within a forest, below
a thick plume of ash and gas. At Stromboli, helicopter-borne thermal surveys allowed us to recognise the
opening of fractures along the Sciara del Fuoco, one hour before the large failure that caused severe destruction
on the island on 30 December 2002. This was the first time ever that volcanic flank collapse has been monitored
with a thermal camera. In addition, we could follow the exceptional explosive event of the 5th April 2003 at
Stromboli from helicopter with a thermal camera recording images immediately before, during and after the huge
explosion. We believe that a more extended use of thermal cameras in volcano monitoring, both on the ground
and from fixed positions, will significantly improve our understanding of volcanic phenomena and hazard
evaluations during volcanic crisis.

1. S. Calvari, L. Lodato, M.R. Burton and D. Andronico, “Dike emplacement at Mount Etna before the 2002 flank
eruption revealed by surveys with a portable thermal camera”, EGS meeting, Nice, April 2003.
2. R. Bianchi, R. Casacchia, A. Picchiotti, M. Poscolieri and R. Salvatori, “Airborne thermal IR survey”. In: “Mt.
Etna: the 1989 eruption”, F. Barberi, A. Bertagnini and P. Landi (editors), Giardini, Pisa, pp. 69-72, 1990.
3. L.P. Flynn and P.J. Mouginis -Mark, “Temperature of an active lava channel from spectral measurements,
Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii”, Bulletin of Volcanology, 56 pp. 297-301, 1994.
4. D. Andronico, S. Branca, S. Calvari, M.R. Burton, T. Caltabiano, R.A. Corsaro, P. Del Carlo, G. Garfì, L. Lodato,
L. Miraglia, F. Muré, M. Neri, E. Pecora, M. Pompilio, G. Salerno, L. Spampinato, “A multi-disciplinary study of
the 2002-03 Etna eruption: insights for into a complex plumbing system”, Bulletin of Volcanology, 2004, in print.
5. A.J.L. Harris and A.J.H. Maciejewski, “Thermal surveys of the Vulcano Fossa fumarole field 1994-1999:
evidence for fumarole migration and sealing”, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 102 pp. 119-
147, 2000.
6. R.G. McGimsey, D.J. Schneider, C.A. Neal, A.L. Roach, “Use of FLIR observations during eruption response
at two Alaskan volcanoes”, Eos Trans AGU 80(46), Fall Meet Suppl, Abstract V32A-07, 1999.
7. J. Dehn, K.G. Dean, K. Engle, P. Izbekov, “Thermal precursors in satellite imagery of the 1999 eruption of
Shishaldin”, Bulletin of Volcanology, 64 pp. 525–534, 2002.
8. A. Harris, J. Dehn, M. Patrick, S. Calvari, M. Ripepe, L. Lodato, “Lava effusion rates from hand-held thermal
infrared imagery: an example from the June 2003 effusive activity at Stromboli”, Bulletin of Volcanology, 2004,
submitted.
9. C. Archambault, J. Stoschek, and J.C. Tanguy, “Global Volcanism 1975-1985”, Smithsonian Institution
Scientific Even Alert Network (SEAN), 1 pp. 57-59, 1989.
10. S. Calvari and H. Pinkerton, “Birth, growth and morphologic evolution of the "Laghetto" cinder cone during
the 2001 Etna eruption”, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, doi:10.1016/S0377-0273(03)00347-0,
2004.
11. A. Bonaccorso, S. Calvari, G. Garfì, L. Lodato, and D. Patané, “December 2002 flank failure and tsunami at
Stromboli volcano inferred by volcanological and geophysical observations”, Geophysical Research Letters,
30, 18, pp. 1941-1944, 2003.
12. C. Oppenheimer, G. Yirgu, “Thermal imaging of an active lava lake; Erta 'Ale Volcano, Ethiopia”,
International J. Remote Sensing 23 pp. 4777–4782, 2002.
13. A. Bonneville, G. Vasseur and Y. Kerr, “Satellite thermal infrared observations of Mt. Etna after the 17th
March 1981 eruption”, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 24 pp. 293-313, 1985.
14. D.A. Rothery, A. Borgia, R.W. Carlton and C. Oppenheimer, “The 1992 Etna lava flow imaged by Landsat
TM”, Int. Journal Remote Sensing, 13 pp. 2759-2763, 1992.
15. S. Calvari and H. Pinkerton, unpublished data, 1999.
16. S. Calvari and H. Pinkerton, “Formation of lava tubes and extensive flow field during the 1991-93 eruption of
Mount Etna”, Journal of Geophysical Research, 103 pp. 27291-27302, 1998.
17. L.P. Flynn, P.J. Mouginis -Mark, J.C. Gradie, P.G. Lucey, “Radiative temperature measurements at Kupaianaha
Lava Lake, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii”, Journal of Geophysical Research, 98 pp. 6461-6476, 1993.
18. H. Pinkerton, M. James and A. Jones, “Surface temperature measurements of active lava flows on Kilauea
Volcano, Hawaii”, Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 113 pp. 159-176, 2002.
19. J.E. Bailey, A.J.L. Harris, J. Dehn, S. Calvari, S.K. Rowland, “The changing morphology of an open lava
channel on Mt. Etna”, Bulletin of Volcanology, 2004, submitted.
20. G. Sawyer, “Atmospheric Correction of FLIR Thermal Imagery”, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e
Vulcanologia, Sezione di Catania. Internal Report, 12 pp, December 2002.
21. S. Calvari and H. Pinkerton, “Instabilities in the summit region of Mount Etna during the 1999 eruption”,
Bulletin Volcanology, 63 pp. 526-535, 2002.
22. S. Calvari and the whole scientific staff of INGV – Sezione di Catania, “Multidisciplinary Approach Yields
Insight into Mt. Etna 2001 Eruption”, EOS Transactions, American Geophysical Union, v. 82, n. 52, pp. 653-
656, 2001.
23. D. Patané, P. De Gori, C. Chiarabba, A. Bonaccorso, “Magma ascent and the pressurization of Mount Etna's
volcanic system”, Science 299 pp. 2061-2063, 2003.
24. J.E. Guest, J.B. Murray, C.R.J. Kilburn, R.M.C. Lopes, P. Fidzuk, “An eyewitness account of the Bocca
Nuova explosion on 12 September 1979”, U.K. Research on Mount Etna, 1977-1979, The Royal Society. 44-46,
1980.
25. S. Calvari, L. Spampinato, L. Lodato, J. Dehn, A. Harris, M. Patrick, M.R. Burton, D. Andronico, “Complex
volcanic processes during the 2002-2003 flank eruption at Stromboli volcano (Italy) detected through
monitoring with a handheld thermal camera”, 2004, in prep.
26. G.M. Crisci, S. Di Gregorio, R. Rongo, M. Scarpelli, W. Spataro and S. Calvari, “Revisiting the 1669 Etnean
eruptive crisis using a cellular automata model and implications for volcanic hazard in the Catania area”, Journal
of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 123, 1/2, pp. 211-230, 2003.
27. K. Hon, J. Kauahikaua, R. Denlinger, K. Mackay, “Emplacement and inflation of pahoehoe sheet flows:
Observations and measurements of active lava flows on Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii”, Geological Society of
America Bulletin, 106 pp. 351-370, 1994.