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Topographic changes during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption from Single-pass Airborne InSAR

August 21, 2019

The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i, was its most effusive in over 200 years. We apply the airborne Glacier and Ice Surface Topography Interferometer (GLISTIN‐A) interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) instrument to measure topographic change associated with the eruption. The GLISTIN‐A radar flew in response to the eruption, acquiring observations of Kīlauea on seven days between May 18 and September 15, 2018. Topography differences were computed relative to GLISTIN‐A observations in 2017. Bare‐earth topography and off‐shore bathymetry were used to correct for vegetation and creation of new coastal land within the Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ) lava flow field. We estimate that the LERZ subaerial flows total bulk volume is 0.593 ± 0.011 km3 and that the summit collapse volume is ‐0.836 ± 0.002 km3. Within the temporal sampling and uncertainty from submarine flow volumes, we find that both the LERZ and caldera volume changes were approximately linear.

Publication Year 2019
Title Topographic changes during the 2018 Kīlauea eruption from Single-pass Airborne InSAR
DOI 10.1029/2019GL083501
Authors Paul R Lundgren, Marco Bagnardi, Hannah R. Dietterich
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Geophysical Research Letters
Index ID 70204923
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Volcano Science Center