Advances in volcano monitoring driven by the first decade of Sentinel-1 observations
A new paper, from a team led by COMET Co-Director Professor Juliet Biggs, has marked ten years of operational service of the Sentinel-1 satellite by reviewing the ways in which it has transformed volcanology.
Use of data from Sentinel-1 (the first satellite of the ESA Copernicus programme) has been gladly adopted as common practice in the field over the last decade thanks to its long term, systematic archive of data, and a policy of open access.
In this study, the team identified 233 high-priority volcanoes as requiring frequent satellite observation. Of these, data obtained by Sentinel-1 has been utilised in published research for about 90 of them. This kind of repeated usage highlights the growing impact of remote sensing satellite data in volcanology.
The team analysed a vast archive of 3.34 million interferogram images processed by COMET’s LICS system and applied machine learning to retrospectively detect the telltale signals of volcanic eruptions. A test on this scale clear demonstrates the promise for these automated approaches in large-scale monitoring.
Data from Sentinel-1 can be applied to monitoring a large range of volcanic settings, as demonstrated in various sites across the world. In Iceland, Hawai’i, and the Galápagos, Sentinel-1 InSAR is integrated into routine monitoring of frequently erupting basaltic volcanoes, and used to identify magma pathways and forecast the outcomes of unrest.
In contrast, InSAR measurements could not be made, or were not useful, at several of the large explosive eruptions that occurred during the first decade, but Sentinel-1 SAR backscatter is increasingly being used to map damage associated with eruptive deposits and flank collapses.
These long term datasets of baseline monitoring have contributed significantly to the detection of subtle deformation signals, and identifying when a volcano first enters a stage of unrest. These datasets have provided new insights into complex subsurface processes, including interactions within magmatic plumbing systems, and those between magmatic and tectonic forces.
Even with the great advances we’ve seen from Sentinel-1, interpreting signals is still a challenge due to the amount of noise in the data, atmospheric interference, and complex natural surfaces. As such, it still relies heavily on being integrated with additional external datasets.
Lead author of the paper, Professor Juliet Biggs said of the new paper, “It was a great privilege to work with researchers from so many different countries and institutions to review the different ways in which Sentinel-1 data is being used by volcanologists. It was exciting to see that the routine acquisition strategy and open-access data policy has opened the doors to large scale systematic analysis, and enabled volcano observatories to integrate satellite data into their real-time monitoring systems.”
The research was supported not just by COMET but also by funding from ERC Horizon 2020. A full list of project funders and supporters can be found in the Acknowledgements section of the paper.
This paper highlights a decade of innovation in the field of remote sensing, and shows exciting possibilities for extending the pioneering work of Sentinel-1. Future studies promise improved resolution and coverage, which can enhance our global volcano monitoring capabilities.
“New satellites planned for the next decade will provide yet another step change in capabilities unlocking further advances in volcanology and volcano monitoring. “
Find Out More
You can read the full article here:
