Abstract
The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea Volcano produced large and destructive lava flows from the fissure 8 (Ahu ‘aila ‘au) vent with flow velocities up to 17 m s−1, highly variable effusion rates over both short (minutes) and long (hours) time scales, and a proximal channel or spillway that displayed flow features similar to open channel flow in river systems. Monitoring such dynamic vent and lava flow systems is a challenge. Our results demonstrate that infrasound, combined with ground-based observations and imagery from unoccupied aircraft systems (UAS), can be used to distinguish vent degassing activity from high-speed lava flow activity. We use spectral characteristics and the infrasound frequency index (FI) to distinguish spillway infrasound from vent infrasound. Comparing FI with flow speeds derived from UAS videos reveals that spillway infrasound only occurs when flow speeds were sufficiently high to cause a supercritical flow state and breaking waves (Froude values > 1.7), and we propose that the spillway signals are produced primarily through the interaction of the turbulent lava-free surface with the atmosphere. We show that FI can also provide a means to track bulk effusion rate. Our results indicate that infrasound offers a new way to characterize lava flow channel hydraulics and is a powerful tool for monitoring effusive eruptions when high-speed flows are possible.
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source back-azimuth shown in degrees of deviation from the fissure 8 vent (121°). Also shown are the approximate durations of the two types of cyclic variations in effusion rate observed at fissure 8: pulses (short-duration) and surges (long-duration)
source back-azimuth, FI, and Fr values. Faint gray line shows full sample rate FI and Fr values. The overlying black line is the same data with a 10th order median filter applied. Background colors on the bottom three panels indicate assumed infrasound source locations, as in Fig. 4 (orange = spillway, white = transition, gray = vent). Dashed line in bottom plot at Fr = 1.7 indicates where a non-breaking jump transitions to a breaking weak jump. Fluvial standing waves have been shown to generate coherent infrasound at values above Fr = 1.7 (Ronan et al. 2017). (c and d) Frames from UAS videos during pulse cycle shown in (a). Images highlight the variations in vent and spillway activity during (c) spillway-dominated infrasound and (d) vent-dominated infrasound
source back-azimuths from Fig. 4 (orange = spillway, blue = transition, black = vent). Data range shown is from July 14 21:33:50 to July 15 01:53:30 UTC, although gaps in the effusion rate data occur in the final hour
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Acknowledgements
We thank the staff of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, the USGS-DOI UAS Kīlauea Response Team, Hawai’i County Civil Defense, the USGS Volcano Science Center staff, University of Hawai’i at Hilo, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other partner agencies, scientific colleagues, and residents who supported data collection, processing, and analysis during the eruption response. Careful reviews by Oliver Lamb, Silvio De Angelis, and Arthur Jolly improved the paper. Infrasound data are available through the IRIS Data Management Center. D. Fee acknowledges funding from NSF Grant EAR-1901614. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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The historic events at Kilauea Volcano in 2018: summit collapse, rift zone eruption, and Mw6.9 earthquake
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Lyons, J.J., Dietterich, H.R., Patrick, M.P. et al. High-speed lava flow infrasound from Kīlauea’s fissure 8 and its utility in monitoring effusion rate. Bull Volcanol 83, 66 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-021-01488-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-021-01488-7