Remotely Sensed Density Measurements of Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide Plumes Using a Spectral Long Wave Infrared Imager

This thesis examines the process of detecting and quantifying volcanic SO2 plumes using the Airborne Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (AHI) developed by the University of Hawaii, AHI was flown over Pu'u'O'o Vent of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii to collect data on 502 plumes. In conjunction with these observations, data were taken with the Hawaii Volcano Observatory's Correlation Spectrometer (COSPEC) and University of Hawaii's FLYSPEC. These are ultraviolet remote sensors with a successful history of monitoring volcanic 502 plumes at 0.3 micron. AHI is a LWIR pushbroom imager sensitive to the 7.5 - 11.5 micron region. Spectral analysis and mapping tools were used to identify and classify the SO2 plume in both radiance and emissive space. MODTRAN was used to model the radiance observed by the sensor as it looked to the ground through an SO2 plume. A spectral library of radiance profiles with varying ground surface temperatures and SO% concentrations was developed, and the AHI data fitted to the varying model profiles. Reasonable values of SO% emission were obtained, though the values directly over the vent obtained by AHI were much higher than those obtained by the UV sensors some distance away.Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA is the author of 'Remotely Sensed Density Measurements of Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide Plumes Using a Spectral Long Wave Infrared Imager', published 2002 under ISBN 9781423506591 and ISBN 1423506596.