HR: 0800h
AN: V41A-0399    [Abstracts]
TI: ASTER Observations of 2000-2007 Thermal Features at Pavlof Volcano and Mt. Hague (Emmons Lake Volcanic Center), Alaska
AU: * Wessels, R L
EM: rwessels@usgs.gov
AF: Alaska Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4200 University Dr, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States
AU: Schneider, D
EM: djschneider@usgs.gov
AF: Alaska Volcano Observatory, U.S. Geological Survey, Alaska Science Center, 4200 University Dr, Anchorage, AK 99508, United States
AU: Ramsey, M
EM: mramsey@upitt.edu
AF: Dept. of Geology & Planetary Science, Univ. of Pittsburgh, 4107 O'Hara Street room 200 SRCC, Pittsburgh, PA 15260-3332, United States
AU: Mangan, M T
EM: mmangan@usgs.gov
AF: Volcano Hazards Team, U.S. Geological Survey, MS 910, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025, United States
AB: Emmons Lake Volcanic Center (ELVC) is a 15 km by 30 km area of nested calderas, stratovolcanoes, lava domes, hyaloclastite rings, and cinder cones aligned along the arc axis. Pavlof Volcano is the most active volcano along the ELVC, with more than 40 historic eruptions since 1790. The most recent eruption of Pavlof Volcano began in August 2007 after almost 11 years of quiescence. Mount Hague is a prominent intracaldera vent with no known historical eruptions that lies approximately 7 kilometers to the southwest of Pavlof. The southern crater of Mount Hague commonly fluctuates between a crater-filling lake to a dry crater floor with vigorously steaming fumaroles. Mount Hague has another fumarole field on the southeast flank at nearly the same elevation as the crater floor. To better document the behavior of persistent thermal features at these remote volcanoes, we have compiled temperature and dimension data using a seven-year long time series of satellite data. Over 25 daytime and 40 nighttime clear thermal infrared (TIR) images (90 m resolution) from the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) have recorded variations in the thermal activity at both volcanic vents since July 2000. All cloud-free ASTER TIR observations document persistent low- temperature features at both Pavlof Volcano and Mount Hague during this period. The size and temperature of each thermal feature varies throughout the study period. The data show that the 2518 m summit of Pavlof Volcano is occasionally snow-free in early summer whereas neighboring peaks at lower elevations are still snow-clad. FLIR data acquired near the summit of Pavlof in 2004 show that the majority of warm ground was at 20°C to 40°C. These warm areas commonly persist snow-free into the winter. Temperature variations observed at Mt Hague crater usually correlate to the size of the ephemeral crater lake. As the lake grows, the pixel-integrated ASTER TIR temperature increases. Measurements using higher resolution (15 m) daytime ASTER visible-near infrared (VNIR) images show that the crater lake size varies between 0 to 4.5 hectares each year. Combined field and satellite observations from the last seven years suggest that the changes to the lake size can occur within a few weeks each summer. When the lake is absent, the fumarole temperatures in the crater parallel the fumarole temperatures observed on the southeast flank of Mount Hague. Periods of vigorous steaming from the Hague crater may coincide with periods of little or no water filling the crater. Although the final data processing is ongoing, preliminary results show no correlation between the thermal activity at Pavlof Volcano with the activity at Mount Hague.
DE: 8419 Volcano monitoring (7280)
DE: 8485 Remote sensing of volcanoes
SC: Volcanology, Geochemistry, Petrology [V]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting