Publications

Coppola, D; Laiolo, M; Lara, LE; Cigolini, C; Orozco, G (2016). The 2008 "silent" eruption of Nevados de Chillan (Chile) detected from space: Effusive rates and trends from the MIROVA system. JOURNAL OF VOLCANOLOGY AND GEOTHERMAL RESEARCH, 327, 322-329.

Abstract
On January 2008, a "silent" eruption took place on the northeast flank of Nevados de Chillan volcanic complex (Chile). The eruption had an effusive character and persisted for several months during which a small lava field (similar to 0.12 km(2)) was emplaced. Although occurring at <10 km from several mountain resorts, and <70 km from Chillan city (similar to 150 k inhabitants) this eruption was completely unnoticed by local authorities and was only inferred a year after, based on field reconnaissance. However, the post processing of MODIS-derived thermal images, by means of the MIROVA system (Middle Infrared Observation of Volcanic Activity), revealed that the eruptive episode produced a clear and detectable thermal signal for the whole duration of the effusion. Based on the thermal flux and a sequence of Landsat images, we suggest that the eruption was fed by three distinct segments of an ENE-oriented dike and characterized by two main effusive phases. About 1.4 Mm(3) of dacitic lava have been gently erupted (mean output rate of similar to 0.075 m(3) s(-1)) without producing any evident manifestation (i.e. explosions, volcanic plumes, tremors, sounds) noticeable from distance. The results presented here demonstrate the capacity of thermal satellite data not only to detect but also to quantify the eruptive flux of a "silent" eruption, otherwise unreported. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOI:
10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2016.08.016

ISSN:
0377-0273