Fifteen years of thermal activity at Vanuatu's volcanoes (2000-2015) revealed by MIROVA

The Vanuatu archipelago consists of 80 islands and hosts 5 subaerial volcanoes (Yasur, Lopevi, Ambrym, Aoba and Gaua) that have shown sign of activity during the past decade. In this contribution we provide a 15 years-long datasets (2000-2015) of the thermal activity recorded at these active volcanoes by means of MIROVA (Middle InfraRed Observation of Volcanic Activity) a new volcanic hotspot detection system based on MODIS data. The analyzed volcanoes are characterized by a spectrum of volcanic activities whose thermal signature has been tracked and carefully analyzed. These include strombolian-vulcanian explosions at Yasur, lava flows at Lopevi, lava lakes at Ambrym, surtseyan-type eruptions within the Voui crater lake of Aoba and ash-dominated eruptions with strong degassing at Gaua. The collected data reveal several details of the long term eruptive dynamics at single sites such as a monthly long pulse in thermal emissions at Yasur volcano as well as at the two active craters of Ambrym (Benbow and Marum). Heating cycles within Aoba crater lake and intermittent pressurized eruptions at Lopevi volcano has also been detected and shed light in the eruptive dynamics of the analyzed volcanoes. In addition we were able to track a two years long intensification of thermal output at Benbow crater (Ambrym) that preceded the occurrence of the first intra-caldera eruptions of this volcano since 1989. We emphasize how the data provided by MIROVA represent a new, safe and affordable method for monitoring in near-real time a large spectrum of volcanic activities taking place at Vanuatu and other volcanic areas. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.