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Weather radar observations of the Hekla 2000 eruption cloud, Iceland

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Abstract

The Hekla eruption cloud on 26–27 February 2000 was the first volcanic cloud to be continuously and completely monitored advecting above Iceland, using the C-band weather radar near the Keflavík international airport. Real-time radar observations of the onset, advection, and waning of the eruption cloud were studied using time series of PPI (plan-position indicator) radar images, including VMI normal, Echotop, and Cappi level 2 displays. The reflectivity of the entire volcanic cloud ranges from 0 to >60 dBz. The eruption column above the vent is essentially characterised by VMI normal and Cappi level 2 values, >30 dBz, due to the dominant influence of lapilli and ash (tephra) on the overall reflected signal. The cloud generated by the column was advected downwind to the north-northeast. It is characterised by values between 0 and 30 dBz, and the persistence of these reflections likely result from continuing water condensation and freezing on ash particles. Echotop radar images of the eruption onset document a rapid ascent of the plume head with a mean velocity of ~30 to 50 m s−1, before it reached an altitude of ~11–12 km. The evolution of the reflected cloud was studied from the area change in pixels of its highly reflected portions, >30 dBz, and tied to recorded volcanic tremor amplitudes. The synchronous initial variation of both radar and seismic signals documents the abrupt increase in tephra emission and magma discharge rate from 18:20 to 19:00 UTC on 26 February. From 19:00 the >45 dBz and 30–45 dBz portions of the reflected cloud decrease and disappear at about 7 and 10.5 h, respectively, after the eruption began, indicating the end of the decaying explosive phase. The advection and extent of the reflected eruption cloud were compared with eyewitness accounts of tephra fall onset and the measured mass of tephra deposited on the ground during the first 12 h. Differences in the deposit map and volcanic cloud radar map are due to the fact that the greater part of the deposit originates by fallout off the column margins and from the base of the cloud followed by advection of falling particle in lower level winds.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Icelandic Meteorological Office and the Science Institute at the University of Iceland for their support, and especially Philippe Crochet, Hreinn Hjartarson, Hrafn Gudmundsson, Erik Sturkell, Kjartan Haraldsson, and Stefán Árnason for fruitful discussions and for giving access to unpublished data. The Icelandic Civil Aviation Administration provided very constructive comments throughout the study. C.L.’s research work was supported by internal funds from the Open University. G.G.J.E. acknowledges the support of the Fondation Belge de la Vocation, the Belgian NSF (FWO-Vlaanderen), and Ghent colleagues. Peter Mouginis-Mark, David Pieri, and an anonymous reviewer are acknowledged for thorough reviews of the manuscript.

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  1. G. G. J. Ernst

    Present address: Department of Geology and Soil Science, Research Centre for Eruption Dynamics, University of Ghent, Krijgslaan 281, S8, 9000 , Ghent, Belgium

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Volcano Dynamics Group, Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK

    C. Lacasse

  2. Icelandic Meteorological Office, Bustadavegur 9, 150 , Reykjavík, Iceland

    S. Karlsdóttir

  3. Science Institute, University of Iceland, Dunhaga 3, 107 , Reykjavík, Iceland

    G. Larsen

  4. Nordic Volcanological Institute, Grensásvegur 50, 108 , Reykjavík, Iceland

    H. Soosalu

  5. Department of Geological Engineering and Sciences, Michigan Technological University, 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, Michigan , 49931, USA

    W. I. Rose & G. G. J. Ernst

  6. Centre for Environmental and Geophysical Flows, Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queen’s Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK

    G. G. J. Ernst

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Editorial responsibility: P. Mouginis-Mark

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Lacasse, C., Karlsdóttir, S., Larsen, G. et al. Weather radar observations of the Hekla 2000 eruption cloud, Iceland. Bull Volcanol 66, 457–473 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-003-0329-3

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