Investigating the nature of an ash cloud event in Southern Chile using remote sensing: volcanic eruption or resuspension?

Abstract

On 14 December 2013, the Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (United States) reported a volcanic ash cloud apparently emitted by the Puyehue Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex (Chile) and indicated its cause was probably resuspension. The distinction of volcanic ash resuspension from volcanic eruptions is important because both processes pose different scenarios for civil protection authorities and besides, there is a special need of specific schemes for detecting and monitoring resuspension of volcanic ash. To this end, we intended to identify the cause of this event by using remote sensing technology. Remote sensing based volcanic ash products enabled us to confirm the presence of volcanic ash and observations on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based cloud-integrated water path provided evidence in favour of a small and short-lived eruption. Thus, a volcanic eruption would constitute a plausible explanation for the cloud of 14 December 2013, but we were unable to discard resuspension. On the other hand, we found out that the water path product could constitute useful ancillary data to identify the origin of this kind of processes. The set of observations presented constitutes a good initial point towards the identification and subsequent development of decision support tools for the mitigation of the hazards posed by volcanic ash resulting from volcanic eruptions and resuspension.

Monitoring Volcanic Plumes and Clouds Using Remote Sensing: A Systematic Review

“…with an uncertainty of +/− 500 m. The detection and quantification of ash and SO 2 have been performed using several multispectral instruments, such as the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) [11,26,30,31,37,39,42,44,45,51,55,56,58,61,62,64,65,68,69,77], SEVIRI [21,22,28,31,37,38,42,44,47,48,50,52,54,57,62,67,69,70,76,79], multifunction transport satellite (MTSAT)-1R and MTSAT-2 imagers [46], AHI [32,35,75], advanced baseline imager (ABI) [65,75], and multi-angle imaging spectroradiometer (MISR) [36,37,…”

Aeolian Remobilisation of Volcanic Ash: Outcomes of a Workshop in the Argentinian Patagonia

“…Locally, communities may observe ash and be concerned that an eruption is occurring, meaning observatories require the ability to identify the source of the ash (eruptive or aeolian) and communicate this to local stakeholders. Promising techniques for distinguishing between primary and remobilised ash clouds include satellite observations (e.g., cloud location, water content estimates; Toyos et al, 2017) in combination with ground-based cameras and geophysical monitors. No single method is likely to be definitive, thus data from different sources requires synthesis, presenting a challenge for poorly-monitored volcanoes.…”

“…Extent and height of cloud Visible camera observations, satellite-and ground-based remote sensing, e.g., radiosonde, solar photometer, lidar, ceilometer forecast modeling, while height estimates are also obtainable by combining satellite observations with radiosonde data (Toyos et al, 2017). Air quality and visibility present threats during remobilisation events and need to be monitored, but not all observatories can measure these parameters.…”

Measurements and modeling of snow albedo at Alerce Glacier, Argentina: effects of volcanic ash, snow grain size and cloudiness

“…The magnitude of resuspension events in Andean Patagonia, a region with strong, persistent westerlies and low seasonal humidity, is well known. These events produce huge ash clouds that may be confused with true volcanic plumes, they remobilize ash tenths of kilometres away (Toyos et al, 2017). In particular, the deposits of volcanic ash that are covered by snow during the winter in the high mountain usually become exposed to remobilization during the summer, travelling through the atmosphere and redepositing at considerably high altitudes.…”