Plume Ascent Tracker: Interactive Matlab software for analysis of ascending plumes in image data

This paper presents Matlab-based software designed to track and analyze an ascending plume as it rises above its source, in image data. It reads data recorded in various formats (video files, image files, or web-camera image streams), and at various wavelengths (infrared, visible, or ultra-violet). Using a set of filters which can be set interactively, the plume is first isolated from its background. A user-friendly interface then allows tracking of plume ascent and various parameters that characterize plume evolution during emission and ascent. These include records of plume height, velocity, acceleration, shape, volume, ash (fine-particle) loading, spreading rate, entrainment coefficient and inclination angle, as well as axial and radial profiles for radius and temperature (if data are radiometric). Image transformations (dilatation, rotation, resampling) can be performed to create new images with a vent-centered metric coordinate system. Applications may interest both plume observers (monitoring agencies) and modelers. For the first group, the software is capable of providing quantitative assessments of plume characteristics from image data, for post-event analysis or in near real-time analysis. For the second group, extracted data can serve as benchmarks for plume ascent models, and as inputs for cloud dispersal models. We here describe the softwareʹs tracking methodology and main graphical interfaces, using thermal infrared image data of an ascending volcanic ash plume at Santiaguito volcano.