Iceland 2015: Field Workshop on Active Lava–Water Interactions

LiDAR Group Photo. Participants from left to right: Laz Kestay, Shane Byrne, Jacob Richardson, Mike Sori, Margaret Landis, Colin Dundas, Ali Bramson, Patrick Whelley, Catherine Neish, Stephen Scheidt, Amber Keske, Sarah Sutton, Ethan Schaefer, Elise Rumpf, Christopher Hamilton, Einat Lev, and Andy Ryan.
LiDAR Group Photo

Participants from left to right: Laz Kestay, Shane Byrne, Jacob Richardson, Mike Sori, Margaret Landis, Colin Dundas, Ali Bramson, Patrick Whelley, Catherine Neish, Stephen Scheidt, Amber Keske, Sarah Sutton, Ethan Schaefer, Elise Rumpf, Christopher Hamilton, Einat Lev, and Andy Ryan

Overview

The goal of this workshop was to bring together a community of Earth and Planetary Scientists with diverse perspectives to examine the 2014–2015 eruption at Holuhraun in Iceland. A precursor for the eruption occurred on August 29, 2014 with the main phase lasting from August 31, 2014 to February 27, 2015. It is the largest eruption to have occurred in Iceland during the past 230 years, generating 1.5–2.0 km3 of lava. The flow inundated a segment of the Jökulsá á Fjöllum—Iceland’s highest discharge river—resulting in unusual forms of hydrothermal activity. The lava diverted part of the river, but a substantial flux of water continues to flow under and through the lava, emerging as steam plumes and hot springs near the flow front. The lava itself is morphologically similar to many lava flows observed on the surface of Mars, particularly in the Tharsis region. Consequently, this eruption provides an exceptional opportunity to study processes important to both Earth and Planetary Sciences. The field workshop involved 17 researchers from the United States of America and Canada, working in collaboration with the University of Iceland.

Overall the workshop included four themes: (1) LiDAR surveys of the near vent region; (2) Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) measurements of the flow margins and surface topography; (3) Characterization of the thermal emission from hot springs; and (4) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) and kite-based imaging of the lava and its surroundings.

Details

Dates: August 20–28, 2015

Organizer: Christopher W. Hamilton

Partner Institutions: Arizona State University, Columbia University, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, United States Geologic Survey, University of Arizona, University of Iceland, University of Southern Florida, University of Western Ontario

Related Conference Presentations

Hamilton et al. (2015) Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles to the study of volcanic landforms. GSA, Baltimore, MD, USA, November 1-4, Abstract 289-3.

Related Publications

Hamilton CW (2015) Team gets firsthand look at the new Holuhraun eruption site. Eos, 96, doi:10.1029/2015EO041197.

 

Click on images below for more details.

On a good day, lauching the kite was a breeze.
Aerial remote sensing was also achieved using kites during high-wind conditions when UAV flights were infeasible. We used a simple nadir-viewing platform for mapping, and a radio-controlled gimbal to obtain targeted perspective images.
Extensive photogrammetric surveys were done using quadcopter UAVs of the lava flow surface, focusing on the margins and surrounding substrate that interacted with the lava flow. (Scientists for scale, upper image center.)
The aerial view from a kite and custom gimbal gives a wide-area perspective of the lava flow, river and erosional processes occurring at the margins. This river is upstream from hot springs that emerge from below the lava flow at its distal end and is likely hydrologically connected.
Hand-catching the UAVs as they landed turned out to be a very effective way of ensuring safe landings on irregular terrain, but requires close teamwork between the pilot and the catcher.
Aerial Remote Sensing
Suddenly sheep! During the summer there was a challenge to invent the best sheep joke, the winner was, "In Iceland, what do sheep and faults have in common?" ... "Shear stress."
The commute to "scamperhraun", near the vent area, was particularly challenging. During the day glacial meltwater would raise the right of the rivers, making it critical to return home before they became impassible.
To access the new lava flow at Holuhraun the team stayed at Dreki, located just outside the Askja caldera.
Intense auroa displays like this one are often short lived, but some members of the science team were fortunate to see some exquisite auroral displays.
The Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are visible from Iceland and different colors are related to the ionization of different molecules in the atmosphere as solar wind is channelled toward the Earth's surface along magnetic field lines.
The journey to the new lava flow at Holuhraun involves a long trek across the highlands.
Even on clear days, winds could be high and generate large dust devils like this one.
The new lava flow at Holuhraun is located near Kverkfjöll which is subglcial volcano shown here.
The science team stayed at Dreki, using one of the cabins for storing electronic equipment and cooking; however, most people prefered to spend the nights in their own tents outside.
Accessing the new lava flow at Holuhraun requires several river crossings like this one.
Preparing meals for a group of seventeen people was a challenge, but Andy Ryan proved to be both an excellent scientist and chef in the field.
The Journey
Setting up a basestation for a Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) survey.
The team is scouting out lava channels near the source vent and establishing a ground control network for subsequent UAV and LiDAR surveys.
Photograph of the vent region taken on November 18, 2014 while the eruption was still active.
Two of strengths of the field workshop team were their multidisciplinary approach to science and good sense of humor.
The vent region of the new eruption at Holuhraun was imaged in detail by the LiDAR team who managed to traverse these lava flows and obtain twenty-eight scans. Based on thier experience on this difficult terrain, they renamed this portion of the flow, "scamperhraun".
The LiDAR team taking careful notes to place their observations into context.
Team LiDAR preparing for a day in the field.
For the LiDAR team, no lava channel is too tight to survey at millimeter-scale precision and detail.
Hiking in and out of the vent region ("scamperhraun") was a difficult task for the LiDAR survey team. Scientists can be seen in the distance exploring a side channel that branches off to the left.
Vent Region
The new lava flow has many lava flow types, but mainly consists of spiny, rubbly, slabby, and ‘a‘ā-like lava flows, which are all treacherous to walk over.
The team ventured into the interior of the lava to characterize the diversity of its flow types and document surface textures and other unique structures, which are not visible from the flow margin.
Extensive photogrammetric documentation will help to understand lava–substrate interactions and aeolian mantling processes. In this image, field observations show that the flow "plowed" into the surrounding sediments as the lava advanced.
Surveying the lava flow margins and its topography requires careful placement and geolocation of ground control points (i.e., orange cones) with DGPS measurements to georefence UAV images. DGPS measurements are also used to obtain extremly accurate (sub-centimeter-scale) topographic transects to characterize surface roughness.
Remote sensing images collected from the UAVs provide insight into the complete processes of channel formation within the lava flow.
A view from the UAV showing the complexity of the lava flow margin, which includes several finger-like lobes with differing surface texture.
Delicate flow stuctures are still preserved on the surface of the new lava flow at Holuhraun.
Remote sensing images collected from the UAVs provide insight into the complete processes of plate formation within the lava flow.
The lava flow margins include numerous lobes that have responded to subtle topographic influences during their emplacement. Understanding the relationships between substrate characteristics and lava flow emplacement was an important part of the scientific investigation.
Flow Margins
Indicated by the steam and thermocouple measurements, the interior of the lava flow was still hot and interacting with water flowing through and below the flow.
The distal (northern) margin of the active lava flow at Holuhraun observed from an aircraft on November18, 2014. The lava flow is entering the Jökulsá á Fjöllum river, creating hotsprings and fumeroles in the foreground. In the background a gaseous plume can be seen emerging from the vent.
A UAV image showing a variety of algal populations (green) growing in the hot water emerging from the distal end of the lava flow.
Crossing the hot springs were always a challenge, but faced with a choice between crossing the lava, or wading through the hot springs, the team generally favored the water, which could reach over 50°C. 40°C water is perfect for a hot tub, but 50°C is just too hot!
The river adjacent to the lava flow fluctuates daily with the amount of glacial meltwater generated upstream, indicated by the high-water marks along the edges of the flow. Scientists explore the hydrologic connections between the level of the river and the hot springs emerging downstream.
Forward Looking Infrared Radiometer (FLIR) oobservations and thermocouple measurements were also use to contrain the surface temperature of the water in the hot springs to calibrate remote sensing measurements.
Despite having so many high-tech instruments, sometimes the best way to take a measurement was the old-fashioned way, with a tape measure (even if it means wading across a river!).
Hot Springs
The Participants