Detection of volcanic gases and particles by satellite

In this paper the detection of components of volcanic eruption has been carried out investigating, in appropriate bands of the electromagnetic spectrum (6.25, 8.7, 10.8, 12 μm), the values of the brightness temperature. The analysis has been performed in the Thermal Infrared Region (TIR) studying both the absorption–emission and scattering phenomena related to the interactions between electromagnetic radiation and volcanic emissions. The results have been achieved by means of a combined use of numerical simulations, devoted to examining the behaviour of the atmosphere gases and volcanic components, and remotely sensed satellite images. The proposed methodologies allow an estimate of the amount of gaseous and solid components, of the size of the emitted particles, of the height of the volcanic plume and of the distance of the volcanic components from the crater. The processed images come from the Spinning Enhanced Visible and InfraRed Imager (SEVIRI) sensor on board the geo-stationary satellite Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) and take into consideration an eruption of the Etna volcano as a study case (1st of April 2012, 04:30 and 05:30 UTC). The procedures are general and may therefore be extended to any other similar case.