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Cooling rate of an active Hawaiian lava flow from nighttime spectroradiometer measurements
Author(s) -
Flynn Luke P.,
MouginisMark Peter J.
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/92gl01577
Subject(s) - lava , geology , volcano , rift zone , moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer , crust , seismology , geophysics , rift , satellite , physics , astronomy , tectonics
A narrow‐band spectroradiometer has been used to make nighttime measurements of the Phase 50 eruption of Pu'u O'o, on the East Rift Zone of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii. On February 19, 1992, a GER spectroradiometer was used to determine the cooling rate of an active lava flow. This instrument collects 12‐bit data between 0.35 to 3.0 μm at a spectral resolution of 1 – 5 nm. Thirteen spectra of a single area on a pahoehoe flow field were collected over a 59 minute period (21:27 – 22:26 HST) from which the cooling of the lava surface has been investigated. A two‐component thermal mixing model [Flynn, 1992] applied to data for the flow immediately on emplacement gave a best‐fit crustal temperature of 768°C, a hot component at 1150°C, and a hot radiating area of 3.6% of the total area. Over a 52‐minute period (within the time interval between flow resurfacings) the lava flow crust cooled by 358°C to 410°C at a rate that was as high as 15°C min −1 . Our observations have significance both for satellite observations of active volcanoes and for numerical models of the cooling of lava flows during their emplacement.