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Title: Volcanic lightning and plume behavior reveal evolving hazards during the April 2015 eruption of Calbuco Volcano, Chile

Journal Article · · Geophysical Research Letters
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL068076· OSTI ID:1296681
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [5];  [5];  [4];  [6]
  1. U.S. Geological Survey, Vancouver, WA (United States)
  2. Los Alamos National Lab. (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
  3. Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria, Temuco (Chile); Univ. de Chile, Santiago (Chile)
  4. Servicio Nacional de Geologia y Mineria, Temuco (Chile)
  5. Servicio Geologico Minero Argentino, Rio Negro (Argentina)
  6. Univ. of Oxford, Oxford (United Kingdom)
+ Show Author Affiliations

Soon after the onset of an eruption, model forecasts of ash dispersal are used to mitigate the hazards to aircraft, infrastructure, and communities downwind. However, it is a significant challenge to constrain the model inputs during an evolving eruption. Here we demonstrate that volcanic lightning may be used in tandem with satellite detection to recognize and quantify changes in eruption style and intensity. Using the eruption of Calbuco volcano in southern Chile on 22 and 23 April 2015, we investigate rates of umbrella cloud expansion from satellite observations, occurrence of lightning, and mapped characteristics of the fall deposits. Our remote sensing analysis gives a total erupted volume that is within uncertainty of the mapped volume (0.56 ± 0.28 km3 bulk). Furthermore, observations and volcanic plume modeling further suggest that electrical activity was enhanced both by ice formation in the ash clouds >10 km above sea level and development of a low-level charge layer from ground-hugging currents.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-06NA25396
OSTI ID:
1296681
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-16-20649
Journal Information:
Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 43, Issue 7; ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical UnionCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 93 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (11)

Old magma and a new, intrusive trigger: using diffusion chronometry to understand the rapid-onset Calbuco eruption, April 2015 (Southern Chile) journal June 2019
Comparison of lake and land tephra records from the 2015 eruption of Calbuco volcano, Chile journal January 2019
Localised heating and intensive magmatic conditions prior to the 22–23 April 2015 Calbuco volcano eruption (Southern Chile) journal March 2019
Characteristics of thunder and electromagnetic pulses from volcanic lightning at Bogoslof volcano, Alaska journal January 2020
Did ice-charging generate volcanic lightning during the 2016–2017 eruption of Bogoslof volcano, Alaska? journal February 2020
Modeling Ash Dispersal From Future Eruptions of Taupo Supervolcano journal July 2019
Lightning Effects on the Grain Size Distribution of Volcanic Ash journal March 2019
Investigating the Accuracy of One‐Dimensional Volcanic Plume Models using Laboratory Experiments and Field Data journal November 2019
Sticking and restitution in collisions of charged sub-mm dielectric grains journal September 2018
Short-Term Forecasting and Detection of Explosions During the 2016–2017 Eruption of Bogoslof Volcano, Alaska journal September 2018
Mapping Recent Shoreline Changes Spanning the Lateral Collapse of Anak Krakatau Volcano, Indonesia journal January 2020

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