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Bagana, arguably the most active volcano in Papua New Guinea, has been in a state of near-continuous eruption for over 150 years, with activity dominated by sluggish extrusion of thick blocky lava flows. If current extrusion rates are representative, the entire edifice may have been constructed in only 300–500 years. Bagana exhibits a remarkably high gas flux to the atmosphere, with persistent sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions of several thousand tons per day. This combination of apparent youth and high outgassing fluxes is considered unusual among persistently active volcanoes worldwide. We have used satellite observations of SO2 emissions and thermal infrared radiant flux to explore the coupling of lava extrusion and gas emission at Bagana. The highest gas emissions (up to 10 kt/day) occur during co-extrusive intervals, suggesting a degree of coupling between lava and gas, but gas emissions remain relatively high (~2,500 t/d) during inter-eruptive pauses. These passive emissions, which clearly persist for decades if not centuries, require a large volume of degassing but non-erupting magma beneath the volcano with a substantial exsolved volatile phase to feed the remarkable SO2 outgassing: an additional ~1.7–2 km3 basaltic andesite would be required to supply the excess SO2 emissions we observe in our study interval (2005 to present). That this volatile phase can ascend freely to the surface under most conditions is likely to be key to Bagana's largely effusive style of activity, in contrast with other persistently active silicic volcanoes where explosive and effusive eruptive styles alternate.

Lava extrusion at erupting volcanoes causes rapid changes in topography and morphology on the order of tens or even hundreds of meters. Satellite radar provides a method for measuring changes in topographic height over a given time period to an accuracy of meters, either by measuring the width of radar shadow cast by steep sided features, or by measuring the difference in radar phase between two sensors separated in space. We measure height changes, and hence estimate extruded lava volume flux, at El Reventador, Ecuador, between 2011 and 2016, using data from the RADARSAT-2 and TanDEM-X satellite missions. We find that 39 new lava flows were extruded between 9 February 2012 and 24 August 2016, with a cumulative volume of 44.8M m3 dense rock equivalent and a gradually decreasing eruption rate. The average dense rock rate of lava extrusion during this time is 0.31 ± 0.02 m3 s−1, which is similar to the long-term average from 1972 to 2016. Apart from a volumetrically small dyke opening event between 9 March and 10 June 2012, lava extrusion at El Reventador is not accompanied by any significant magmatic ground deformation. We use a simple physics-based model to estimate that the volume of the magma reservoir under El Reventador is greater than 3 km3. Our lava extrusion data can be equally well fit by models representing a closed reservoir depressurising during the eruption with no magma recharge, or an open reservoir with a time-constant magma recharge rate of up to 0.35 ± 0.01 m3 s−1.

Crustal extension at the East African Rift System (EARS) should, as a tectonic ideal, involve a stress field in which the direction of minimum horizontal stress is perpendicular to the rift. A volcano in such a setting should produce dykes and fissures parallel to the rift. How closely do the volcanoes of the EARS follow this? We answer this question by studying the 21 volcanoes that have erupted historically (since about 1800) and find that 7 match the (approximate) geometrical ideal. At the other 14 volcanoes the orientation of the eruptive fissures/dykes and/or the axes of the host rift segments are oblique to the ideal values. To explain the eruptions at these volcanoes we invoke local (non-plate tectonic) variations of the stress field caused by: crustal heterogeneities and anisotropies (dominated by NW structures in the Protoerozoic basement), transfer zone tectonics at the ends of offset rift segments, gravitational loading by the volcanic edifice (typically those with 1–2 km relief) and magmatic pressure in central reservoirs. We find that the more oblique volcanoes tend to have large edifices, large eruptive volumes, and evolved and mixed magmas capable of explosive behavior. Nine of the volcanoes have calderas of varying ellipticity, 6 of which are large, reservoir-collapse types mainly elongated across rift (e.g., Kone) and 3 are smaller, elongated parallel to the rift and contain active lava lakes (e.g., Erta Ale), suggesting different mechanisms of formation and stress fields. Nyamuragira is the only EARS volcano with enough sufficiently well-documented eruptions to infer its long-term dynamic behavior. Eruptions within 7 km of the volcano are of relatively short duration (

An L-band InSAR mission, EVINSAR, was proposed to ESA's Earth Explorer Opportunity Mission programme in 2002 that would measure the strain cycles associated with earthquakes/tectonism and volcanoes. Although not funded the concept was encouraged by ESA and the EVINSAR Science Team was asked to study how the science requirements of EVINSAR could be met by the proposed TerraSAR-L mission. The EVINSAR concept emphasises the collection of a frequent time series of repeat-pass SCANSAR interferograms of the world's areas of active tectonism and volcanism from an inclined orbital plane and a narrow orbital tube. Left- and right-viewing would alternate with each repeat cycle. These characteristics would obviate baseline decorrelation, minimise topographic noise and maximise the ability to recover the 3D motion vector. L-band radar is needed to reduce temporal decorrelation over vegetation and give the mission a global capability. We have studied TerraSAR-L's Phase 0 specifications in relation to distributed scatterer differential InSAR. TerraSAR-L goes a considerable way to meeting the EVINSAR science needs. Under ideal conditions it could approach a target minimum strain rate sensitivity of Imm/10km/year. However, the polar orbit of TerraSAR-L and only limited capability for left-sided viewing reduces the ability to retrieve the 3D motion vector from multiple views.

Since 2004, the satellite-borne Ozone Mapping Instrument (OMI) has observed sulphur dioxide (SO$_{2}$) plumes during both quiescence and effusive eruptive activity at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat. On average, OMI detected a SO$_{2}$ plume 4–6 times more frequently during effusive periods than during quiescence in the 2008–2010 period. The increased ability of OMI to detect SO$_{2}$ during eruptive periods is mainly due to an increase in plume altitude rather than a higher SO$_{2}$ emission rate. Three styles of eruptive activity cause thermal lofting of gases (Vulcanian explosions; pyroclastic flows; a hot lava dome) and the resultant plume altitudes are estimated from observations and models. Most lofting plumes from Soufrière Hills are derived from hot domes and pyroclastic flows. Although Vulcanian explosions produced the largest plumes, some produced only negligible SO$_{2}$ signals detected by OMI. OMI is most valuable for monitoring purposes at this volcano during periods of lava dome growth and during explosive activity.

Observations of volcanoes extruding andesitic lava to produce lava domes often reveal cyclic behaviour. At Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat, cycles with sub-daily and multi-week periods have been recognised on many occasions. These two types of cycle have been modelled separately as stick-slip magma flow at the junction between a dyke and an overlying cylindrical conduit (Costa et al. 2012), and as the filling and discharge of magma through the elastic-walled dyke (Costa et al., 2007a) respectively. Here, we couple these two models to simulate the behaviour over a period of well-observed multi-week cycles, with accompanying sub-daily cycles, from 13 May to 21 September 1997. The coupled model captures well the asymmetrical first-order behaviour: the first 40% of the multi-week cycle consists of high rates of lava extrusion during short period/high amplitude sub-daily cycles as the dyke reservoir discharges itself. The remainder of the cycle involves increasing pressurization as more magma is stored, and extrusion rate falls, followed by a gradual increase in the period of the sub-daily cycles.

The edifice of a volcano is a unique deformational environment, dependent not just on active volcanic processes but also on its composition, structure, and morphology. We measured the deformation of Volcn Arenal, Costa Rica, using interferograms constructed from both ALOS and RadarSat data between 2005 and 2009. The volcano's western flanks are moving downslope at an angle of ∼55° below the horizontal plane and a consistent rate of at least ∼7 cm/yr. We use the pattern, rate, and direction of motion to test several hypotheses for its origin. Our favored explanation is creep along a shallow sliding plane, most likely the interface between deposits postdating the 1968 lateral blast eruption and the older lavas and paleosoils beneath. Our measurement of slope movement adds to a small set of rate measurements for gravity-driven deformation at volcanoes and is distinctive in both its relatively high rate and shallow origin. Observation of deformation at Arenal contributes both to the assessment of particular hazards around Arenal itself and, more generally, to the study of the stability of young stratovolcanoes. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

International audience; During the Soufrière Hills eruption, vulcanian explosions have generally occurred 1) in episodic cycles; 2) isolated during pauses in extrusion, and 3) after major collapses of the dome. In a different eruptive context, significant vulcanian explosions occurred on 29 July 2008, 3 December 2008, and 3 January 2009. Deposits are pumiceous except for the 3 December event. We reconstructed the dispersal pattern of the deposits and their textural characteristics to evaluate erupted volume and vesicularity of the magma at fragmentation. We discuss the implications of these explosions in terms of eruptive processes and chronology, and the hazards posed by their sudden and often unheralded occurrence. We suggest that overpressurization of the conduit can develop over time-scales of months to weeks by a process of self-sealing of conduit walls and/or the cooling dome by silica polymorphs. This work provides new insights for understanding the generation of hazardous vulcanian explosions at andesitic volcanoes.