Combined Use of SEVIRI and MODIS for Detecting, Measuring, and Monitoring Active Lava Flows at Erupting Volcanoes

Multispectral data acquired by Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) onboard the geostationary platform Meteosat Second Generation (MSG2), located at 0^deg longitude, were analyzed to assess the payload suitability for quantitative volcano monitoring. In times of good infrared transparency of the troposphere, SEVIRI data proved particularly suited to detect the onset of effusive eruptions and to monitor the related lava flows with 15-min refresh rates. After development of a code allowing for fast automated processing of the 96 data streams downlinked daily by MSG2, thorough monitoring tests were carried out on the 2007 eruptions of Stromboli (Aeolian Islands, Italy) and Piton de la Fournaise (Reunion Island, France). The results in radiant flux and effusion rate provided by use of thermal, mid-, and short infrared bands of SEVIRI were validated by exploiting simultaneous MODIS overpasses by Terra and Aqua, up to four times daily.