Himawari-8 infrared observations of the June–August 2015 Mt Raung eruption, Indonesia

Abstract

Volcanic activity involves processes that can change over short periods of time, which are sometimes closely related to the eruptive mode or the timing of its transitions. Eruptions bring high-temperature magma or gas to the surface; thermal observations of these eruptions can be used to determine the timeline of eruptive sequences or eruptive processes. In 2014, a new-generation meteorological satellite, Himawari-8, which carried a new sensor, the Advanced Himawari Imager (AHI), was launched. The AHI makes high-frequency infrared observations at a spatial resolution of 2 km during 10-min observation cycles. We analyzed an effusive eruption that occurred in 2015 at Mt Raung in Indonesia using these AHI images, which was the first attempt applying them to volcanological study. Based on the detailed analysis of the time-series variations in its thermal anomalies, this eruptive sequence was segmented into a Precursory Stage, Pulse 1, Pulse 2 and a Terminal Stage. Pulses 1 and 2 are effusive stages that exhibited a consecutive two-pulse pattern in their variations, reflecting changes in the lava effusion rate; the other stages are non-effusive. We were also able to determine the exact times of the onset and reactivation of lava flow effusion, as well as the precursory signals that preceded these events.[Figure not available: see fulltext.].