Assessing spatial and temporal transformation of Matua Island territory caused by the activity of Sarychev Peak volcano

Abstract

Areas of active volcanism are characterized by significant transformation of many environmental components and are potentially dangerous at economic development. The purpose of the work is to assess spatial and temporal transformation of Matua Island territory caused by activity of Sarychev Peak volcano. The author analyzes a series of Landsat satellites photos from 1972 to 2022. The spatial dynamics of the coastline was studied based on synthesized images (NIR-SWIR-RED). In the research of vegetation transformation, a time series of normalized relative index (NDVI) was used. The time course analysis of changing Matua Island area, maximum and average values of NDVI within its limits, and a sketch map of spatial and temporal transformation of the research territory were made. Relatively rare and strong eruptions of Sarychev Peak volcano lead to significant changes of Matua Island, which mainly affects the state of the vegetation cover and restructuring of the relief. There is a relatively rapid succession, especially in the areas where thickness of volcanic deposits has not exceeded for several tens of centimeters. Accumulation of pyroclastic material caused an increase in the space of the island by 0,87 km2, but 0,52 km2 was blurred by the sea during 13 years. The research shows the nature of the danger and transformation of the territories in zones of active volcanism, which must be taken into account at solving issues related to economic development, cadastral assessment and arranging these lands monitoring.