Thermal insights into the dynamics of Nyiragongo lava lake from ground and satellite measurements

Abstract

We present new insights into the short- and long-term thermal activity of the Nyiragongo lava lake by ground-based and satellite infrared thermal imagery recorded in the first half of 2012. This is the very first time in which FLIR camera and SEVIRI data have been compared at this volcano. Maximum temperatures recorded at the molten lava were of ~1180 K, whereas the lake skin remained always below ~734 K in areas far from the upwelling zone and below ~843 K in those proximal to the source region. Ground-based imagery yielded mean radiative power values between ~0.80 and 1.10 GW. Consistently, satellite observations showed similar mean values of 1.10 GW. Overall the thermal activity of the lava lake was quite variable along the three days of field measurements at both daily and intradaily scale. SEVIRI radiative power values retrieved for the January–June 2012 period revealed fluctuations within the same variability range suggesting that no significant changes of the lava lake area had occurred over the six months. Comparison with previous radiative power estimates showed that our data well agree with the general increasing trend recorded since the reappearance of the lava lake after the last flank eruption in 2002.