Volcanic lightning and plume behavior reveal evolving hazards during the April 2015 eruption of Calbuco volcano, Chile
Author
dc.contributor.author
Van Eaton, Alexa R.
Author
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Amigo, Álvaro
Author
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Bertin, Daniel
Author
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Mastin, Larry G.
Author
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Giacosa, Raúl E.
Author
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González, Jerónimo
Author
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Valderrama, Óscar
Author
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Fontijn, Karen
Author
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Behnke, Sonja A.
Admission date
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2016-10-25T20:11:15Z
Available date
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2016-10-25T20:11:15Z
Publication date
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2016
Cita de ítem
dc.identifier.citation
Geophys. Res. Lett., 43, 3563–3571
es_ES
Identifier
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10.1002/2016GL068076
Identifier
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https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/140971
Abstract
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Soon after the onset of an eruption, model forecasts of ash dispersal are used to mitigate the hazards to aircraft, infrastructure, and communities downwind. However, it is a significant challenge to constrain the model inputs during an evolving eruption. Here we demonstrate that volcanic lightning may be used in tandem with satellite detection to recognize and quantify changes in eruption style and intensity. Using the eruption of Calbuco volcano in southern Chile on 22 and 23 April 2015, we investigate rates of umbrella cloud expansion from satellite observations, occurrence of lightning, and mapped characteristics of the fall deposits. Our remote sensing analysis gives a total erupted volume that is within uncertainty of the mapped volume (0.56 +/- 0.28 km(3) bulk). Observations and volcanic plume modeling further suggest that electrical activity was enhanced both by ice formation in the ash clouds >10 km above sea level and development of a low-level charge layer from ground-hugging currents.