Real-time Satellite Monitoring of the 2024-2025 dyke intrusion sequence at Fentale-Dofen Volcanoes, Ethiopia

Between September 2024 and March 2025, a sequence of magmatic dyke intrusions occurred between Fentale and Dofen volcanoes, Ethiopia. Due to infrastructure damage, surface fissures and potential eruptions, ~75,000 people were evacuated in January 2025. Ground access to the region remains limited. This data report summarises satellite analysis conducted by the UK Centre for the Observation and Modelling of Volcanoes, Earthquakes and Tectonics (COMET) at the request of colleagues from Addis Ababa University and published online as a series of eight event response reports. We used data from Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, COSMO-SkyMed, Pléiades and PlanetScope satellites to document the activity in real-time. Steady uplift around Fentale between 2017-2024 was followed by the intrusion of a 7 km long dyke in September-October 2024. A second, larger dyke intrusion occurred between December 2024 and March 2025. The dyke initially propagated radially, before changing direction to propagate along the rift axis, reaching 50 km in length and causing ~3 m of surface displacement. Dyke propagation stopped by mid-January, but opening continued at a variable but generally decreasing rate until mid-March. Activity within Fentale caldera, including ~ 30 cm of localised subsidence, thermal anomalies, visible plumes, and methane emissions started in mid-January. Following a magnitude 5.9 non-double-couple earthquake on 14 February, the area of localised subsidence slumped by up to 30 m. This information was used to support situational awareness and decision making by stakeholders in Ethiopia and UK. Ongoing monitoring remains critical.