TY - JOUR

T1 - Insights Into Pāhoehoe Lava Emplacement Using Visible and Thermal Structure-From-Motion Photogrammetry

AU - Biass, S.

AU - Orr, T.R.

AU - Houghton, B.F.

AU - Patrick, M.R.

AU - James, M.R.

AU - Turner, N.

N1 - An edited version of this paper was published by AGU. Copyright 2019 American Geophysical Union. Biass, S., Orr, T. R., Houghton, B. F., Patrick, M. R., James, M. R., & Turner, N. ( 2019). Insights into pāhoehoe lava emplacement using visible and thermal structure‐from‐motion photogrammetry. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 124, 5678– 5695. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JB017444

PY - 2019/6/30

Y1 - 2019/6/30

N2 - We present the evolution over 3 months of a 2016–2017 pāhoehoe flow at Kīlauea as it changed from a narrow sheet flow into a compound lava field fed by a stable system of tubes. The portion of the flow located on Kīlauea's coastal plain was characterized using helicopter-based visible and thermal structure-from-motion photogrammetry to construct a series of georeferenced digital surface models and thermal maps on eight different days. Results reveal key influences on the emplacement and evolution of such long-lived pāhoehoe flows. This region of the flow grew by ~12 × 10 6 m 3 with a near-constant time-average discharge rate of 1.2–2.7 m 3/s. The development of two tube systems is captured and shows an initial nascent tube enhanced by a narrow topographic confinement, which later inflated and created a topographic inversion that modulated the emplacement of a second flow lobe with its own tube system. The analysis of breakouts at various stages of the field's life suggests that the evolution of the thermal and morphological properties of the flow surface reflect its maturity. Thermal properties of breakouts were used to expand the empirical relationship of breakout cooling to longer timescales. This study contributes to the long-term development and validation of more accurate predictive models for pāhoehoe, required during the management of long-lasting lava flow crises in Hawai'i and elsewhere.

AB - We present the evolution over 3 months of a 2016–2017 pāhoehoe flow at Kīlauea as it changed from a narrow sheet flow into a compound lava field fed by a stable system of tubes. The portion of the flow located on Kīlauea's coastal plain was characterized using helicopter-based visible and thermal structure-from-motion photogrammetry to construct a series of georeferenced digital surface models and thermal maps on eight different days. Results reveal key influences on the emplacement and evolution of such long-lived pāhoehoe flows. This region of the flow grew by ~12 × 10 6 m 3 with a near-constant time-average discharge rate of 1.2–2.7 m 3/s. The development of two tube systems is captured and shows an initial nascent tube enhanced by a narrow topographic confinement, which later inflated and created a topographic inversion that modulated the emplacement of a second flow lobe with its own tube system. The analysis of breakouts at various stages of the field's life suggests that the evolution of the thermal and morphological properties of the flow surface reflect its maturity. Thermal properties of breakouts were used to expand the empirical relationship of breakout cooling to longer timescales. This study contributes to the long-term development and validation of more accurate predictive models for pāhoehoe, required during the management of long-lasting lava flow crises in Hawai'i and elsewhere.

KW - emplacement dynamics

KW - Kīlauea volcano

KW - pāhoehoe lava flow

KW - structure from motion

KW - thermal mapping

KW - volcanic crises

U2 - 10.1029/2019JB017444

DO - 10.1029/2019JB017444

M3 - Journal article

VL - 124

SP - 5678

EP - 5695

JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth

SN - 2169-9313

IS - 6

ER -