Mapping and Assessing Surface Morphology of Holocene Lava Field in Krafla (NE Iceland) Using Hyperspectral Remote Sensing

Abstract

Iceland is well known for its volcanic activity due to its location on the spreading Mid Atlantic Ridge and one of the earth’s hot spot. In the past 1000 years there were about 200 eruptions occurring in Iceland, meaning volcanic eruptions occurred every four to five years, on average. Iceland currently has 30 active volcano systems, distributed evenly throughout the socalled Neovolcanic Zone. One of these volcanic systems is the Krafla central volcano, which is located in the northern Iceland at latitude 65°42'53'' N and longitude 16°43'40'' W. Krafla has produced two volcanic events in historic times: 1724-1729 (Myvatn Fires) and 1975-1984 (Krafla Fires). The Krafla Fires began in December 1975 and lasted until September 1984. This event covered about 36-km2 surrounding area with lava, having a total volume of 0.25-0.3 km3 . Previous studies of lava surface morphology at Krafla focused on an open channel area by remote sensing are essential as a complementary tool to the previous investigations and to extend the area of mapping. Using Spectral Angle Mapper (SAM) classification approach by selecting spectral reflectance end members, this study has successfully produced a detailed map of the surface morphology in Krafla lava field EO-1 Hyperion (Hyperspectral) satellite images. The overall accuracy of lava morphology map is 61.33% (EO-1 Hyperion). These results show that hyperspectral remote sensing is an acceptable alternative to field mapping and assessing the lava surface morphology in the Krafla lava field. In order to get validation of the satellite image’s spectral reflectance, in-situ measurements of the lava field’s spectral reflectance using ASD FieldSpec3 is essential.