A multi-decadal view of the heat and mass budget of a volcano in unrest: La Soufri\`ere de Guadeloupe (French West Indies)

TL;DR

This study analyzes 20 years of heat and mass flux data from La Soufri e de Guadeloupe, revealing significant volcanic unrest and increased ground heating, emphasizing the importance of ongoing monitoring for hydrothermal volcanoes.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive multi-decadal analysis of heat flux variations and volcanic unrest at La Soufri e de Guadeloupe, integrating diverse measurement techniques.

Findings

Total heat flux is approximately 36.5 MW, with fumarolic heat dominating.

Significant increase in ground heating from 2010 to 2020.

Emergence of new high-flux fumaroles indicating escalating unrest.

Abstract

Particularly in the presence of a hydrothermal system, many volcanoes output large quantities of heat through the transport of water from deep within the edifice to the surface. Thus, heat flux is a prime tool for evaluating volcanic activity and unrest. We review the volcanic unrest at La Soufri\`ere de Guadeloupe (French West Indies) using an airborne thermal camera survey, and in-situ measurements of temperature and flow rate through temperature probes, Pitot-tube and MultiGAS measurements. We deduce mass and heat fluxes for the fumarolic, ground and thermal spring outputs and follow these over a period spanning 2000--2020. Our results are compared with published data and we performed a retrospective analysis of the temporal variations in heat flux over this period using the literature data. We find that the heat emitted by the volcano is 36.5 +/- 7.9 MW, of which the fumarolic heat flux is dominant at 28.3 +/- 6.8 MW. Given a total heated area of 26780 m2, this equates to a heat flux density of 627 +/- 94 W/m2, which is amongst the highest established for worldwide volcanoes with hydrothermal systems, particularly for dome volcanoes. A major change at La Soufri\`ere de Guadeloupe, however, is the development of a widespread region of ground heating at the summit where heat output has increased from 0.2 +/- 0.1 MW in 2010 to 5.7 +/- 0.9 MW in 2020. This change is concurrent with accelerating unrest at the volcano, and the emergence of two new high-flux fumaroles in recent years. Our findings highlight the importance of continued and enhanced surveillance and research strategies at La Soufri\`ere de Guadeloupe, the results of which can be used to better understand hydrothermal volcanism the world over.