Fifteen years of remote sensing of Pinatubo volcano, the Philippines
Abstract
The 1991 eruption of Pinatubo, Philippines, provides a unique opportunity to study the effects of a large eruption in part because it took place after the advent of satellite-based observations. A great diversity of satellite and aircraft remote sensing data has been collected over Pinatubo during the period 1988--2003, allowing the role of remote sensing in monitoring volcanic hazards to be evaluated. Here we show the importance of multi-year data sets to document both the evolving problem with lahars during the first few years after the eruption, as well as the hazards that still exist due to potential large scale breakout from the summit caldera lake more than 10 years after the eruption. Experience gained in the analysis of Pinatubo is also of value in preparation for planning data collections over other major explosive volcanoes, as choices have to be made on data acquisitions based on sensor availability and data costs. Prior to 1991, only one SPOT satellite image (20 m/pixel) had been obtained of Pinatubo in 1988 that now serves as a "bench mark" against which to measure subsequent changes in drainage basin geometry. Since the eruption, a wide diversity of remote sensing data has been obtained. Imaging radar data, providing cloud-free coverage of the whole volcano, have been collected from the ERS-1, ERS-2 and RADARSAT spacecraft between 1993 and 2002, as well as two SIR-C/X-SAR Space Shuttle flights in 1994. These radar data are particularly good for mapping changes in lahar deposits. Multiple multispectral data from SPOT, Landsat 7 and ASTER over the period 1991--2002 allow the re-vegetation of the volcano to be monitored at a scale of 10--30 m/pixel. Very high resolution (1 m/pixel) IKONOS images for the summit caldera and western ignimbrite fan were obtained in March 2001, allowing the hazards associated with lake breakout events from the summit caldera to be assessed with great detail. Two flights of the NASA DC-8 aircraft (in 1996 and 2000) have collected 5 m/pixel digital elevation data for parts of Pinatubo, permitting the erosion in some valleys to be studied. These topographic data have now been augmented by data from 2000 Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), enabling the overall topography of Pinatubo and structural fabric of the adjacent area of Central Luzon Island to be investigated.
- Publication:
-
EGS - AGU - EUG Joint Assembly
- Pub Date:
- April 2003
- Bibcode:
- 2003EAEJA.....3280M