Towards coordinated regional multi-satellite InSAR volcano observations: results from the Latin America pilot project

Abstract

Within Latin America, about 319 volcanoes have been active in the Holocene, but 202 of these volcanoes have no seismic, deformation or gas monitoring. Following the 2012 Santorini Report on satellite Earth Observation and Geohazards, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) developed a 4-year pilot project (2013-2017) to demonstrate how satellite observations can be used to monitor large numbers of volcanoes cost-effectively, particularly in areas with scarce instrumentation and/or difficult access. The pilot aims to improve disaster risk management (DRM) by working directly with the volcano observatories that are governmentally responsible for volcano monitoring as well as with the international space agencies (ESA, CSA, ASI, DLR, JAXA, NASA, CNES). The goal is to make sure that the most useful data are collected at each volcano following the guidelines of the Santorini report that observation frequency is related to volcano activity, and to communicate the results to the local institutions in a timely fashion. Here we highlight how coordinated multi-satellite observations have been used by volcano observatories to monitor volcanoes and respond to crises. Our primary tool is measurements of ground deformation made by Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), which have been used in conjunction with other observations to determine the alert level at these volcanoes, served as an independent check on ground sensors, guided the deployment of ground instruments, and aided situational awareness. During this time period, we find 26 volcanoes deforming, including 18 of the 28 volcanoes that erupted-those eruptions without deformation were less than 2 on the VEI scale. Another 7 volcanoes were restless and the volcano observatories requested satellite observations, but no deformation was detected. We describe the lessons learned about the data products and information that are most needed by the volcano observatories in the different countries using information collected by questionnaires. We propose a practical strategy for regional to global satellite volcano monitoring for use by volcano observatories in Latin America and elsewhere to realize the vision of the Santorini report.

Thermal, Deformation, and Degassing Remote Sensing Time Series (CE 2000–2017) at the 47 most Active Volcanoes in Latin America: Implications for Volcanic Systems

“…Certain observation modes (using longer radar wavelengths or higher spatial resolution at a given wavelength) improve coherence in vegetated areas, but these data are not always available at no cost. The benefits of these modes for Latin American volcanoes and their utility for monitoring are described in Pritchard et al ().…”

“…As a step toward developing an international remote sensing geohazards monitoring effort, the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), an umbrella organization of major international space agencies dedicated to international coordination of space‐based Earth observations, initiated a series of pilot projects for geohazards (specifically volcanoes, earthquakes, floods, and landslides). The volcano pilot project focused on a regional study of volcanic unrest and eruption in Latin America during 2014–2017 to demonstrate a proof of concept for a global volcano observatory in space, resulting in an increase in availability of SAR data in this region (Pritchard et al, ). The project chose Latin America as a test area due to its abundant volcanic activity and wide diversity of environmental conditions.…”

“…Volcanoes within this region exhibit a variety of eruption styles—including Strombolian to Plinian explosions, lava lakes, and episodic to continuous effusion of basaltic to rhyolitic magma from both open and closed systems (e.g., Chaussard et al, ; Newhall, ). Additionally, eruptions in this region strongly impact local populations and regional air traffic, yet they are undermonitored by ground‐based methods (Pritchard et al, ). This study focuses on the most active volcanoes in Latin America (Figure ).…”

“…The 47 volcanoes of interest exhibit previously detected unrest that, in many cases, culminated in an eruption. These are a subset of the more than 60 volcanoes in Latin America considered restless, including those with eruptions since 2000 (49), those that have experienced seismic swarms without eruption (9), or other satellite detected unrest (54) since 1990 (Pritchard et al, ). We have excluded most volcanoes where only one data type exhibited unrest or detections are not clearly related to subsurface magmatic and/or hydrothermal processes (see Table S1).…”

Thermal Remote Sensing for Global Volcano Monitoring: Experiences From the MIROVA System

“…Volcanic monitoring can be viewed as a form of continuous learning by the scientific community, in which the greater the amount of information available, the greater the understanding of the volcanic phenomena in progress, and the better the ability to forecast future eruptive scenarios (Winson et al, 2014). In this context, satellite data are a reliable source of information, especially for monitoring the large number (∼50%) of potentially active volcanoes (∼1400) still lacking conventional ground-based instruments (Brown et al, 2015;Pritchard et al, 2018;Delgado et al, 2019). Nonetheless, even at well-monitored volcanoes, satellite data offer a spatio-temporal view of eruptive phenomena that may fill gaps left by ground based instruments .…”