ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Earth Sci.
Sec. Volcanology
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feart.2025.1643038
Volume changes at Santiaguito volcano between 2011 and 2019 based on TanDEM-X InSAR data
Provisionally accepted
Ann-Kathrin Edrich1,2*
Julia Kubanek3*
Ellen Gottschämmer4
Alexandra Duckstein5Malte Westerhaus6
Julia Kowalski1*
Andreas Rietbrock2- 1Methods for Model-based Development in Computational Engineering, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- 2Geophysical Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
- 3European Space Research and Technology Centre, Noordwijk, Netherlands
- 4Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
- 5Institute of Resource Ecology, Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Dresden, Germany
- 6Geodetic Institute, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany
Select one of your emails
You have multiple emails registered with Frontiers:
Notify me on publication
Please enter your email address:
If you already have an account, please login
You don't have a Frontiers account ? You can register here
The Santiaguito volcanic dome complex in Guatemala consists of four volcanic domes formed within the 1902 eruption crater of Santa Mar´ıa volcano, with only the oldest dome, Caliente, currently active. Caliente is characterized by frequent explosive eruptions, rockfalls, pyroclastic flows, and blocky lava flows. TanDEM-X data enable the generation of high-resolution digital elevation models of complex volcanic terrain. Repeated acquisitions over the same area allow for the detection and quantification of topographic changes associated with volcanic activity. This study investigates elevation and volume changes at Caliente's southern flank and western crater region from September 2011 to April 2019 using 24 TanDEM-X-derived digital elevation models with spatial resolutions of 6.5 m (N–S) and 4 m (E–W). Between 2011 and 2016, several new lava flows were emplaced on the southern flank, while the crater region experienced a volume decrease of (545 ± 4) · 103 m3. From 2016 to 2019, significant dome growth increased the volume in the crater region again by (354±3)·103 m3, primarily in the center. Concurrently, volume decreased along the northwestern crater rim, likely due to the 2016 explosive eruption. The average volume output rate over the entire observation period is calculated as 0.18±0.0004 m3/s.
Keywords: Santiaguito Volcano, TanDEM-X, volcanology, satellite data, InSAR
Received: 07 Jun 2025; Accepted: 24 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Edrich, Kubanek, Gottschämmer, Duckstein, Westerhaus, Kowalski and Rietbrock. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Ann-Kathrin Edrich, edrich@mbd.rwth-aachen.de
Julia Kubanek, julia.kubanek@esa.int
Julia Kowalski, kowalski@mbd.rwth-aachen.de
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.