Using volcanic tremor to ellucidate magmatic systems
Miriam Christina Reiss 1, Corentin Caudron2, Diana Roman3
Affiliations: 1 Institute of Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany 2 Laboratoire G-Time, Department of Geosciences, Environment, and Society, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium 3 Carnegie Science, Washington D.C., USA
Presentation type: Poster
Presentation time: Friday 16:30 - 18:00, Room Poster Hall
Poster Board Number: 6
Programme No: 1.5.13
Abstract
Seismology has been at the forefront of monitoring volcanoes and imaging magmatic systems at depth; yet one seismic signal remains particularly elusive: volcanic tremor. It is difficult to locate due to a lack of clear onsets and can last between minutes to years. Global comparisons are lacking, as this signal varies from volcano to volcano in duration, frequency content, recurrence interval and depth estimate (if at all available) and relationship to other observables such as gas emission, deformation and eruptive activity. Hence, there are no clear links between the observations and the many invoked potential source models. Using seismic data from Oldoinyo Lengai (Tanzania), Taiogaite (La Palma, Spain), Pahala (Hawaii, USA), and Ruapehu (New Zealand), we present a comparative study on tremor properties and locations, discuss what they can tell us about magmatic processes and present new findings on how melt viscosity plays a crucial role in tremor amplitude. We use these observations to elucidate magmatic plumbing systems across the crust and overturn decade-long debates on the proposed shallow nature of tremor. We suggest that tremor holds the key to understanding yet unresolved problems regarding the structure and dynamics of magmatic plumbing systems.