RAPID: Increasing Capacity for Data Collection during the 2018 East Rift Eruption, Hawaii Island

University Of Hawaii At Hilo, Hilo HI

Investigators

Abstract

Volcanic eruptions pose major threats to communities living nearby and can also impact aviation transportation and other critical networks. This RAPID award will support the enhancement of infrastructure available to capture spatial data for monitoring the ongoing volcanic activity within the Kilauea Volcano East Rift Zone. It will support acquisition of equipment to continue collection of high resolution thermal and visible imagery and derived three-dimensional datasets from small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) platforms, as well as to expand the temporal and spatial coverage of ongoing efforts. The ability to collect and process sUAS-derived imagery to quickly provide updated measures of lava flow fronts, hazardous gas concentrations, and eruption activity for first responders and emergency operations center managers has improved our ability to protect and inform the affected population in Hawai'i. Lessons learned during this disaster response will also have application for other similarly affected communities in the future. Beyond the immediate societal benefits this requested equipment will provide, broader impacts will result from what we can learn from these rapidly acquired datasets as they are applied towards developing improved eruption prediction and modeling capability in the future, and the invaluable experiences participating students are acquiring as a result of participating in the data collection campaigns. The current 2018 Kilauea eruption, which has included the opening of volatile vents within the Leilani Estates subdivision and a transition from 'a'a to pahoehoe lava flows, provides a unique opportunity to document the evolution of these vents over time and measure eruption rates and flow rheology characteristics and evolution. The accessibility of these erupting fissures allows for repeated and consistent measurements from sUAS platforms and field collection campaigns, and together these datasets can greatly advance our understanding of East Rift Zone volcanology. The high resolution sUAS-derived spatial time-series datasets being generated by this group will be the first to capture all phases of the eruption process during a significant episode in Kilauea's eruption history. It is expected that these data will help volcano scientists understand and predict Kilauea's ongoing and future eruptions. Specific objectives include (1) capturing the evolution of fissures, from precursor cracks to mature vents, (2) accurately measuring the eruption rate, a unique opportunity as the entire flow volume is presently contained within the ~25 km2 (at present) study area, (3) capturing the topographic and thermal evolution of the lava flow. The methods to be used to achieve these objectives include repeat mapping with thermal and visible sensors via sUAS platforms, establishing ground control through differential GPS occupations, and remote sensing post-processing and spatial data analysis. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.