THE 2006 AUGUSTINE ERUPTION IN SYNTHETIC APERTURE RADAR DATA

RADARSAT Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data has been collected throughout 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano in Alaska's Cook Inlet. At the time of writing (February 7th 2006) at least 3 standard beam passes in repeat orbits have been acquired by the Alaska Satellite Facility (ASF) during the present period of unrest. In addition to the standard beam mode data a number of ScanSAR passes have been acquired and the utility of these is being assessed.

The recent eruption of Augustine Volcano follows several months of increased seismic activity, that has been actively monitored by the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO), the Alaska Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys (DGGS) and the USGS. Several periods of eruptive activity have been observed and it is believed that the volcano has undergone periods of vent clearing, pyroclastic/debris flows and dome growth. The eruption is likely to generate a topographical signal that GPS stations (if not destroyed in the eruption) are able to monitor. An interferometric (INSAR and DINSAR) study using the SAR data will be undertaken to attempt to bolster the GPS and provide a independent dataset to study the deformation. In addition, delineation of debris flows and ash fallout using coherence and amplitude data will be compared to those derived from optical sensors.

Presented is a preliminary analysis of the data, and a exploration of the utility of SAR data for volcano monitoring in Alaska.