Effects of a volcanic plume on thermal imaging data

Abstract

Ground-based thermal imaging is becoming an increasingly important tool for volcano surveillance, however the impact of volcanic plumes on quantitative measurements of surface temperature has not been previously evaluated. Here we use a radiative transfer model to simulate gas (primarily H2O and SO2) and aerosol absorptions over the path between a thermal camera and a heat source on Stromboli volcano, Italy. A FTIR spectrometer was used to quantify path amounts of gases likely to be encountered when making thermal measurements of the active craters. We find that when using a camera sensitive from 7.5 to 13 mm, underestimates of 400 K may be produced when viewing a source with an actual temperature of 1200 K. Cameras that operate between 3 and 5 mm are somewhat less susceptible to these errors.