2023 activity of Nyamulagira volcano monitored by SAR interferometric coherence

In this work the multi-temporal InSAR coherence is exploited to analyze several phenomena during the 2023 Nyamulagira volcano activity in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Starting from March 2023 a significant increasing of the activity was observed with several eruptions and a lava lake inside the...

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Main Authors: Marco Polcari, Emanuele Ferrentino, Charles Balagizi, Diego Coppola, Sébastien Valade
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-12-01
Series:Science of Remote Sensing
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666017225000677
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author Marco Polcari
Emanuele Ferrentino
Charles Balagizi
Diego Coppola
Sébastien Valade
author_facet Marco Polcari
Emanuele Ferrentino
Charles Balagizi
Diego Coppola
Sébastien Valade
author_sort Marco Polcari
collection DOAJ
description In this work the multi-temporal InSAR coherence is exploited to analyze several phenomena during the 2023 Nyamulagira volcano activity in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Starting from March 2023 a significant increasing of the activity was observed with several eruptions and a lava lake inside the northeastern crater pit. SAR data acquired from January to December 2023 by Sentinel-1 missions were exploited to follow the temporal evolution of the volcanic activity by the analysis of any InSAR coherence variations. The aim is to detect any lava flows inside the caldera and overflowing the flanks of the volcano. In addition, the time needed for the lava to solidify is tentatively estimated by studying the statistical behavior of the coherence pattern ascribable to a lava flow. Experimental results show a significant lava effusion inside Nyamulagira caldera from the beginning of March, while in mid-May the increase of the activity induced an overflowing from the caldera, with a lava flow observed along the NW flank of the volcano. Then, starting from the end of May-early June, the activity started to return to low levels. The statistical analysis of the probability distributions suggest that after the crisis of May, the lava emitted during the eruption, follows a solidification and likely cooling phase with an approximate time to complete the process estimated in 45/50 days. These results were synergistically used with other data to support the GVO local monitoring team in managing the May 2023 Nyamulagira volcano crisis.
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spelling doaj-art-ddcd5dbccdec4b6c94aa7242224262972025-08-20T03:08:35ZengElsevierScience of Remote Sensing2666-01722025-12-011210026110.1016/j.srs.2025.1002612023 activity of Nyamulagira volcano monitored by SAR interferometric coherenceMarco Polcari0Emanuele Ferrentino1Charles Balagizi2Diego Coppola3Sébastien Valade4Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143, Rome, Italy; Corresponding author.Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143, Rome, ItalyIstituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143, Rome, Italy; Goma Volcano Observatory, 868H+FF9, 142, Avenue Du Rond-Point, Quartier Les Volcans, Goma City, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Institut Supérieur Pédagogique de Bukavu, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the CongoUniversità Degli Studi di Torino, Dipartimento di Scienze Della Terra, Via Valperga Caluso, 35, 10125, Torino, ItalyUniversidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Geofísica, Circuito de La Investigación Científica S/n, C.U., Coyoacán, 04150 CDMX, Mexico City, MexicoIn this work the multi-temporal InSAR coherence is exploited to analyze several phenomena during the 2023 Nyamulagira volcano activity in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Starting from March 2023 a significant increasing of the activity was observed with several eruptions and a lava lake inside the northeastern crater pit. SAR data acquired from January to December 2023 by Sentinel-1 missions were exploited to follow the temporal evolution of the volcanic activity by the analysis of any InSAR coherence variations. The aim is to detect any lava flows inside the caldera and overflowing the flanks of the volcano. In addition, the time needed for the lava to solidify is tentatively estimated by studying the statistical behavior of the coherence pattern ascribable to a lava flow. Experimental results show a significant lava effusion inside Nyamulagira caldera from the beginning of March, while in mid-May the increase of the activity induced an overflowing from the caldera, with a lava flow observed along the NW flank of the volcano. Then, starting from the end of May-early June, the activity started to return to low levels. The statistical analysis of the probability distributions suggest that after the crisis of May, the lava emitted during the eruption, follows a solidification and likely cooling phase with an approximate time to complete the process estimated in 45/50 days. These results were synergistically used with other data to support the GVO local monitoring team in managing the May 2023 Nyamulagira volcano crisis.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666017225000677NyamulagiraSAR imagesInSAR coherenceLava flow
spellingShingle Marco Polcari
Emanuele Ferrentino
Charles Balagizi
Diego Coppola
Sébastien Valade
2023 activity of Nyamulagira volcano monitored by SAR interferometric coherence
Science of Remote Sensing
Nyamulagira
SAR images
InSAR coherence
Lava flow
title 2023 activity of Nyamulagira volcano monitored by SAR interferometric coherence
title_full 2023 activity of Nyamulagira volcano monitored by SAR interferometric coherence
title_fullStr 2023 activity of Nyamulagira volcano monitored by SAR interferometric coherence
title_full_unstemmed 2023 activity of Nyamulagira volcano monitored by SAR interferometric coherence
title_short 2023 activity of Nyamulagira volcano monitored by SAR interferometric coherence
title_sort 2023 activity of nyamulagira volcano monitored by sar interferometric coherence
topic Nyamulagira
SAR images
InSAR coherence
Lava flow
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666017225000677
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AT charlesbalagizi 2023activityofnyamulagiravolcanomonitoredbysarinterferometriccoherence
AT diegocoppola 2023activityofnyamulagiravolcanomonitoredbysarinterferometriccoherence
AT sebastienvalade 2023activityofnyamulagiravolcanomonitoredbysarinterferometriccoherence