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Modeling Eruption Source Parameters by Integrating Field, Ground‐Based, and Satellite‐Based Measurements: The Case of the 23 February 2013 Etna Paroxysm
Author(s) -
Poret M.,
Costa A.,
Andronico D.,
Scollo S.,
Gouhier M.,
Cristaldi A.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: solid earth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.983
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 2169-9356
pISSN - 2169-9313
DOI - 10.1029/2017jb015163
Subject(s) - tephra , volcanic ash , lava , geology , volcano , particle size distribution , satellite , aerosol , environmental science , pumice , plume , atmospheric sciences , mineralogy , meteorology , seismology , particle size , physics , paleontology , astronomy
Volcanic plumes from Etna volcano (Italy) are governed by easterly winds driving ash over the Ionian Sea. The limited land tephra deposit makes total grain‐size distribution (TGSD) assessment and its fine ash fraction highly uncertain. On 23 February 2013, a lava fountain produced a ~9‐km‐high column above sea level (a.s.l.). The atypical north‐easterly wind direction dispersed the tephra from Etna to the Puglia region (southern Italy) allowing sampling up to very distal areas. This study uses field measurements to estimate the field‐based TGSD. Very fine ash distribution (particle matter below 10 μm—PM 10 ) is explored parameterizing the field‐TGSD through a bi‐lognormal and bi‐Weibull distribution. However, none of the two latter TGSDs allow simulating any far‐traveling airborne ash up to distal areas. Accounting for the airborne ash retrieved from satellite (Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager), we proposed an empirical modification of the field‐based TGSD including very fine ash through a power law decay of the distribution. The input source parameters are inverted by comparing simulations against measurements. Results suggest a column height of ~8.7 km a.s.l., a total erupted mass of ~4.9 × 10 9 kg, a PM 10 content between 0.4 and 1.3 wt%, and an aggregate fraction of ~2 wt% of the fine ash. Aerosol optical depth measurements from the AErosol RObotic NETwork are also used to corroborate the results at ~1,700 km from the source. Integrating numerical models with field, ground‐based, and satellite‐based data aims at providing a better TGSD estimation including very fine ash, crucial for air traffic safety.