A Multi-Sensor Satellite Approach to Characterize the Volcanic Deposits Emitted during Etna’s Lava Fountaining: The 2020–2022 Study Case

Between December 2020 and February 2022, the South East Crater of Etna has been the source of numerous eruptions, mostly characterized by the emission of lava fountains, pyroclastic material and short-lasting lava flows. Here we estimate the volume and distribution of the lava deposits by elaboratin...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gaetana Ganci, Giuseppe Bilotta, Francesco Zuccarello, Sonia Calvari, Annalisa Cappello
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-02-01
Series:Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/4/916
Description
Summary:Between December 2020 and February 2022, the South East Crater of Etna has been the source of numerous eruptions, mostly characterized by the emission of lava fountains, pyroclastic material and short-lasting lava flows. Here we estimate the volume and distribution of the lava deposits by elaborating multi-source satellite imagery. SEVIRI data have been elaborated using CL-HOTSAT to estimate the lava volume emitted during each event and calculate the cumulative volume; Pléiades and WorldView-1 data have been used to derive Digital Surface Models, whose differences provide thickness distributions and hence volumes of the volcanic deposits. We find a good agreement, with the total average lava volume obtained by SEVIRI reaching 73.2 × 10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup> and the one from optical data amounting to 67.7 × 10<sup>6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>. This proves the robustness of both techniques and the accuracy of the volume estimates, which provide important information on the lava flooding history and evolution of the volcano.
ISSN:2072-4292