The Beauty of Volcanic Activity from Space through Satellite Imagery

Discovering Active Volcanoes From Space

The latest effusive eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland. Image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 8 February 2024. 🌐 EO Browser / Copernicus Browser

A guest blog post by Martin Kelko

Foreword by Sentinel Hub

Welcome to our Sentinel Hub Medium guest blog post series! As an integral part of our vibrant community, we are delighted to bring you the diverse perspectives and insights of our valued users. Each post in this series represents the unique experiences, expertise and creativity of individuals harnessing the power of Sentinel Hub services. From innovative applications to ground-breaking research, these guest blog posts offer a glimpse into the myriad ways our users are leveraging satellite imagery and data to explore, analyse and address real-world challenges. We’re excited to provide this space for our community to share their stories and inspire others on their journey with Sentinel Hub.

Volcanic activity is a powerful force of nature that can have profound and far-reaching effects on both the environment and human populations. Monitoring volcanic activity is crucial for early detection, risk assessment, and disaster management. In recent years, advancements in technology, particularly satellite imagery, have revolutionised the way volcanologists monitor and study volcanoes.

The lava flow continues to be active from the summit of Heard volcano, Southern Indian Ocean. Image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 12 February 2024. 🌐 EO Browser / Copernicus Browser

Volcano Discovery

As a volcanologist working as a volcano co-guide and news editor for Volcano Discovery for the past five years, I find monitoring volcanic activity through satellites to be among the most fundamental sources to keep and manage up-to-date volcanic events as they occur worldwide.

The active lava dome of Santiaguito volcano (Guatemala) continues to grow, and glowing lava blocks detach from its flanks. Image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 6 February 2024. 🌐 EO Browser / Copernicus Browser

Alongside regularly updating detailed narratives of volcanic activity at approximately daily intervals, satellite imagery acquisition and its processing significantly assist me in determining and defining the characteristics of volcanic activity. Detecting active volcanoes encouraged me to study the principles and fundamentals of remote sensing, programming, and modern applications.

The powerful explosion at Fuego (Guatemala) showered the summit with glowing lava bombs and formed incandescent avalanches. Image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 9 January 2024. 🌐 EO Browser / Copernicus Browser

About one year ago, at the time of this article, I started to delve deeper and play around more with various EO Browser custom scripts. Back then, I mostly used the predefined true color+IR highlights evalscript in the volcano theme, having zero experience with digital art.

Viscous lava continues to rise into the lava dome at Bagana (Papua New Guinea). Image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on February 2024. 🌐 EO Browser / Copernicus Browser

Sentinel Hub’s educational repository: webinars, tutorials, and inspiring satellite imagery masters

I discovered the Sentinel Hub’s comprehensive education workflow webpage, where I’ve been exploring several webinars, tutorials, user guides, and the entire collection of useful custom scripts. Meanwhile, I discovered a masterpiece of satellite imagery processed by Pierre Markuse and Iban Ameztoy, who inspired me to start image processing.

The lava lake at Erebus volcano (Antarctica) continues to be active. Image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 7 February 2024. 🌐 EO Browser / Copernicus Browser

I usually process Sentinel-2 (occasionally Sentinel-3) combinations of thermal anomalies of volcanoes with various types of natural color visualizations. I like this combination by far the most. To perform image enhancements, I use QGIS for georeferencing and raster graphics editors (GIMP.org and Adobe Lightroom) to make images prettier.

The summit lava pond at Villarrica (Chile) remains active. Image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 23 January 2024. 🌐 EO Browser / Copernicus Browser

The lava at Fernandina (Galapagos Islands) continues to ooze out from the flank fissure. Image acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 on 6 March 2024. 🌐 EO Browser / Copernicus Browser

Visualizations

In addition, the EO Browser (and the latest Copernicus Browser) also offers options to create beautiful and effective time-lapses of volcanic activity. Easy access to the browser allows you to select the area of interest (AOI) by navigating to the desired location on the map and drawing a rectangle or polygon around the region you want to capture. You are also free to specify the time range for your time-lapse.

As time went by, I commenced processing synthetic-aperture (SAR) radar animations and datasets acquired by Sentinel-1. From a volcanological point of view, I find SAR animations powerful since SAR can penetrate through darkness, clouds, and rain and is highly capable of detecting lava flow development, erosion resulting from eruptive activity, etc.

The animated gif compiled from Sentinel-1 radar images shows the evolution of Anak Krakatau (Indonesia) volcano since late 2018 when most of its summit cone collapsed, triggering a deadly tsunami. In the months and years after this event, continued activity has been filling the initial crater lake and is now in the process of growing a new cone in its place. Timelapse acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-1 during 11/2018–08/2023. 🌐

The active Santiaguito lava dome (Guatemala) has been in a state of steady eruption for many years. Viscous lava is rising and accumulating in the active dome, as well as forming slow-moving lava flows. This time-lapse from satellite imagery shows the emplacement of a new lava flow on the SW side, reaching several km length over an interval of approx. 3 years compressed into 6 seconds.

Throwback to 2021 Soufrière St. Vincent’s massive eruptions following new lava dome growth. Timelapse acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-1 during 12/2020–07/2021.

Indeed, I enjoy creating optical visualizations and 3D animations as well.

The extrusive activity from the lava dome at Merapi continues. Timelapse acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 during 05/2023–02/2024.

The new batch of magma started to feed hornitos in the Erta Ale’s southern pit crater. Timelapse acquired by Copernicus Sentinel-2 between 29 Dec 2023 and 3 Jan 2024.

Conclusion

The EO Browser platform’s user-friendly interface, abundant data sources, and a diverse range of predefined views have collectively created an enjoyable experience, compelling me to become a frequent visitor each day so far.

EO Browser by Planet stands out as a remarkable tool that brings the marvels of Earth’s landscapes to our fingertips. This powerful platform harnesses the capabilities of satellite imagery, providing users with a unique and visually stunning perspective of our planet.

The Sentinel Hub team would like to thank Martin Kelko for his constant contribution to the Earth observation community. You can get in touch and find his work on X (Twitter) and LinkedIn.

We recommend the Sentinel Hub Educational page and the Custom Scripts webinar to learn more about satellite imagery and custom scripts. You can also visit a dedicated topic in the Sentinel Hub Forum for more information.