Remote monitoring of building oscillation modes by means of real-time Mid Infrared Digital Holography

2016

AbstractNon-destructive measurements of deformations are a quite common application of holography but due to the intrinsic limits in the interferometric technique, those are generally confined only to small targets and in controlled environment. Here we present an advanced technique, based on Mid Infrared Digital Holography (MIR DH), which works in outdoor conditions and provides remote and real-time information on the oscillation modes of large engineering structures. Thanks to the long wavelength of the laser radiation, large areas of buildings can be simultaneously mapped with sub-micrometric resolution in terms of their amplitude and frequency oscillation modes providing all the modal p…

Volcano seismicity and ground deformation unveil the gravity-driven magma discharge dynamics of a volcanic eruption.

2015

Effusive eruptions are explained as the mechanism by which volcanoes restore the equilibrium perturbed by magma rising in a chamber deep in the crust. Seismic, ground deformation and topographic measurements are compared with effusion rate during the 2007 Stromboli eruption, drawing an eruptive scenario that shifts our attention from the interior of the crust to the surface. The eruption is modelled as a gravity-driven drainage of magma stored in the volcanic edifice with a minor contribution of magma supplied at a steady rate from a deep reservoir. Here we show that the discharge rate can be predicted by the contraction of the volcano edifice and that the very-long-period seismicity migrat…

Shallow magma dynamics at open-vent volcanoes tracked by coupled thermal and SO2 observations

2022

Open-vent volcanic activity is typically sustained by ascent and degassing of shallow magma, in which the rate of magma supply to the upper feeding system largely exceeds the rate of magma eruption. Such unbalance between supplied (input) and erupted (output) magma rates is thought to result from steady, degassing-driven, convective magma overturning in a shallow conduit/feeding dyke. Here, we characterize shallow magma circulation at Stromboli volcano by combining independent observations of heat (Volcanic Radiative Power; via satellite images) and gas (SO2, via UV camera) output in a temporal interval (from August 1, 2018 to April 30, 2020) encompassing the summer 2019 effusive eruption a…

Ground deformation reveals the scale-invariant conduit dynamics driving explosive basaltic eruptions

2021

The mild activity of basaltic volcanoes is punctuated by violent explosive eruptions that occur without obvious precursors. Modelling the source processes of these sudden blasts is challenging. Here, we use two decades of ground deformation (tilt) records from Stromboli volcano to shed light, with unprecedented detail, on the short-term (minute-scale) conduit processes that drive such violent volcanic eruptions. We find that explosive eruptions, with source parameters spanning seven orders of magnitude, all share a common pre-blast ground inflation trend. We explain this exponential inflation using a model in which pressure build-up is caused by the rapid expansion of volatile-rich magma ri…

Ash-plume dynamics and eruption source parameters by infrasound and thermal imagery: The 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption

2013

During operational ash-cloud forecasting, prediction of ash concentration and total erupted mass directly depends on the determination of mass eruption rate (MER), which is typically inferred from plume height. Uncertainties for plume heights are large, especially for bent-over plumes in which the ascent dynamics are strongly affected by the surrounding wind field. Here we show how uncertainties can be reduced if MER is derived directly from geophysical observations of source dynamics. The combination of infrasound measurements and thermal camera imagery allows for the infrasonic type of source to be constrained (a dipole in this case) and for the plume exit velocity to be calculated (54–14…

Spatio-temporal changes in degassing behavior at Stromboli volcano derived from two co-exposed SO2 camera stations

2022

Improving volcanic gas monitoring techniques is central to better understanding open-vent, persistently degassing volcanoes. SO2 cameras are increasingly used in volcanic gas studies, but observations are commonly limited to one single camera alone viewing the volcanic plume from a specific viewing direction. Here, we report on high frequency (0.5 Hz) systematic measurements of the SO2 flux at Stromboli, covering a 1-year long observation period (June 2017-June 2018), obtained from two permanent SO2 cameras using the same automated algorithm, but imaging the plume from two different viewing directions. Our aim is to experimentally validate the robustness of automatic SO2 camera for volcano …

Volcanic CO2 tracks the incubation period of basaltic paroxysms

2021

Description

Tracking dynamics of magma migration in open-conduit systems

2016

Open-conduit volcanic systems are typically characterized by unsealed volcanic conduits feeding permanent or quasi-permanent volcanic activity. This persistent activity limits our ability to read changes in the monitored parameters, making the assessment of possible eruptive crises more difficult. We show how an integrated approach to monitoring can solve this problem, opening a new way to data interpretation. The increasing rate of explosive transients, tremor amplitude, thermal emissions of ejected tephra, and rise of the very-long-period (VLP) seismic source towards the surface are interpreted as indicating an upward migration of the magma column in response to an increased magma input r…

Exploring the explosive-effusive transition using permanent ultraviolet cameras

2017

Understanding the mechanisms that cause effusive eruptions is the key to mitigating their associated hazard. Here, we combine results from permanent ultra-violet (UV) cameras, and from other geophysical observations (seismic very long period, thermal, and infrasonic activity), to characterize volcanic SO2 flux regime in the period prior, during, and after Stromboli's August-November 2014 effusive eruption. We show that, in the two months prior to effusion onset, the SO2 flux levels are two times average level. We explain this anomalously high SO2 regime as primarily determined by venting of rapidly rising, pressurized SO2-rich gas pockets, produced by strombolian explosions being more frequ…

Forecasting Effusive Dynamics and Decompression Rates by Magmastatic Model at Open-vent Volcanoes

2017

AbstractEffusive eruptions at open-conduit volcanoes are interpreted as reactions to a disequilibrium induced by the increase in magma supply. By comparing four of the most recent effusive eruptions at Stromboli volcano (Italy), we show how the volumes of lava discharged during each eruption are linearly correlated to the topographic positions of the effusive vents. This correlation cannot be explained by an excess of pressure within a deep magma chamber and raises questions about the actual contributions of deep magma dynamics. We derive a general model based on the discharge of a shallow reservoir and the magmastatic crustal load above the vent, to explain the linear link. In addition, we…

Modern Multispectral Sensors Help Track Explosive Eruptions

2013

Due to its massive air traffic impact, the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajokull was felt by millions of people and cost airlines more than U.S. $1.7 billion. The event has, thus, become widely cited in renewed efforts to improve real-time tracking of volcanic plumes, as witnessed by special sections published last year in Journal of Geophysical Research, (117, issues D20 and B9).

Infrasonic Early Warning System for Explosive Eruptions

2018

Gas mass derived by infrasound and UV cameras: Implications for mass flow rate

2016

Abstract Mass Flow Rate is one of the most crucial eruption source parameter used to define magnitude of eruption and to quantify the ash dispersal in the atmosphere. However, this parameter is in general difficult to be derived and no valid technique has been developed yet to measure it in real time with sufficient accuracy. Linear acoustics has been applied to infrasonic pressure waves generated by explosive eruptions to indirectly estimate the gas mass erupted and then the mass flow rate. Here, we test on Stromboli volcano (Italy) the performance of such methodology by comparing the acoustic derived results with independent gas mass estimates obtained with UV cameras, and constraining th…

Modeling Volcanic Eruption Parameters by Near-Source Internal Gravity Waves

2016

AbstractVolcanic explosions release large amounts of hot gas and ash into the atmosphere to form plumes rising several kilometers above eruptive vents, which can pose serious risk on human health and aviation also at several thousands of kilometers from the volcanic source. However the most sophisticate atmospheric models and eruptive plume dynamics require input parameters such as duration of the ejection phase and total mass erupted to constrain the quantity of ash dispersed in the atmosphere and to efficiently evaluate the related hazard. The sudden ejection of this large quantity of ash can perturb the equilibrium of the whole atmosphere triggering oscillations well below the frequencie…