Monitoring of the 2008 Chaitén Eruption Cloud Using MODIS Data and its Impacts

Abstract

This chapter presents the monitoring of the 2008 Chaitén eruption cloud using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data and its impacts. The 8-day MODIS data from 3 to 10 May 2008 were used to track the movement and dispersion of the eruption cloud of the Chaitén volcano in Chile following the eruption on 2 May 2008. For detecting volcanic particulates, the procedure is adopted based on the brightness temperature difference (BTD) algorithm, by which the thermal infrared channels were centered on 11-12 μm of multispectral satellite sensors. The BTD is generally negative for volcanic ash but positive for ice and water vapor. The eruption cloud was found to drift northeastward, eastward, and southeastward crossing the central and northern part of Argentina and over the Atlantic Ocean. The timing of heavy rainfall in South Africa during May-June, in central Australia during June 2008 and in Hong Kong during June (the wettest since record began in 1884), was considered to have been connected to the dispersion of the particulates from this Chaitén eruption to further impact downstream.

Tracking the Transport of SO2 and Sulphate Aerosols from the Tonga Volcanic Eruption to South Africa

“…Various satellite sensors have been utilized to examine the distribution and transport of volcanic emissions. Some of the commonly used satellite sensors are Sentinel-5P [11,12], the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) [13,14], Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO) [15,16], and MODIS [17,18]. However, few studies have used reanalysis data to investigate the distribution of SO 2 from volcanic eruptions.…”