Modelling of volcanic ash with HYSPLIT and satellite observations: a case study of the 2018 Barren Island volcano eruption event, Andaman Territory, India

Abstract

The present study aims to identify, characterize monitor and model the transport pathways of volcanic ashes and various features of the active phase ofBarren Island volcano (BIV), Andaman and Nicobar Island, India during 2018 using the several Earth observation satellite technologies and field observations in the study area. Sentinel-2 satellite datasets have been used to identify volcanic eruption features such as lava flow, ash plume, cinder and vent and different directions of lava flow from the cinder cone during the 2018 eruptive phase of BIV. To visualize the major variations in thermal intensity and understand the behaviour of current volcanic activity, volcanic radiative power (VRP) and radiant fluxes of the recent eruptive phase were calculated using MIROVA. In addition, thermal anomaly was observed in the form of anomalous fire pixels for 44 days in FIRMS database. Also, NASA/NOAA Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS, VNP14IMGT) were used for validating the real-time activity of the 2018 volcanic eruption phase. The results obtained were closely related with the periods of high eruptions as observed in the Sentinel-2 datasets. The volcanic aerosol ‘sulphur dioxide’ (SO2) data (time series-area averaged) were analysed as well as a five-day forward trajectory and volcanic ash model for each eruption event was developed using HYSPLIT model to identify the transport pathways and extent of volcanic ash cloud in the lower atmosphere during the eruptive phase of the volcano.