Geology topics

B. Chouet

Publications and source records attributed to B. Chouet.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

USGS2001

Spatial extent of a hydrothermal system at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, determined from array analyses of shallow long-period seismicity 1. Method

We present a probabilistic method to locate the source of seismic events using seismic antennas. The method is based on a comparison of the event azimuths and slownesses derived from frequency-slowness analyses of array data, with a slowness vector model. Several slowness vector models are considered including both homogeneous and horizontally layered half-spaces and also a more complex medium representing the actual topography and three-dimensional velocity structure of the region under study. In this latter model the slowness vector is obtained from frequency-slowness analyses of synthetic signals. These signals are generated using the finite difference method and include the effects of topography and velocity structure to reproduce as closely as possible the behavior of the observed wave fields. A comparison of these results with those obtained with a homogeneous half-space demonstrates the importance of structural and topographic effects, which, if ignored, lead to a bias in the source location. We use synthetic seismograms to test the accuracy and stability of the method and to investigate the effect of our choice of probability distributions. We conclude that this location method can provide the source position of shallow events within a complex volcanic structure such as Kilauea Volcano with an error of ±200 m.

Hawai'i↗

USGS2001

Wavefield properties of a shallow long-period event and tremor at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

The wavefields of tremor and a long-period (LP) event associated with the ongoing eruptive activity at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, are investigated using a combination of dense small-aperture (300 m) and sparse large-aperture (5 km) arrays deployed in the vicinity of the summit caldera. Measurements of azimuth and slowness for tremor recorded on the small-aperture array indicate a bimodal nature of the observed wavefield. At frequencies below 2 Hz, the wavefield is dominated by body waves impinging the array with steep incidence. These arrivals are attributed to the oceanic microseismic noise. In the 2-6 Hz band, the wavefield is dominated by waves propagating from sources located at shallow depths (<1 km) beneath the eastern edge of the Halemaumau pit crater. The hypocenter of the LP event, determined from frequency-slowness analyses combined with phase picks, appears to be located close to the source of tremor but at a shallower depth (<0.1 km). The wavefields of tremor and LP event are characterized by a complex composition of body and surface waves, whose propagation and polarization properties are strongly affected by topographic and structural features in the summit caldera region. Analyses of the directional properties of the wavefield in the 2-6 Hz band point to the directions of main scattering sources, which are consistent with pronounced velocity contrasts imaged in a high-resolution three-dimensional velocity model of the caldera region. The frequency and Q of the dominant peak observed in the spectra of the LP event may be explained as the dominant oscillation mode of a crack with scale length 20-100 m and aperture of a few centimeters filled with bubbly water. The mechanism driving the shallow tremor appears to be consistent with a sustained excitation originating in the oscillations of a bubbly cloud resulting from vesiculation and degassing in the magma. ?? 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research↗

USGS1999

Broadband measurements of the sources of explosions at Stromboli Volcano, Italy

During September–October 1997, 21 three-component broadband seismometers were deployed on Stromboli Volcano at radial distances of 0.3–2.2 km from the active crater to investigate the source mechanisms of Strombolian explosions. In the 2–50 s band, the very-long period (VLP) signals associated with explosions are consistent with two stationary sources repeatedly activated in time. VLP particle motions are essentially linear and analyses of semblance and particle motions are consistent with a source centroid offset 300 m beneath and 300 m northwest of the active vents. Similar VLP waveforms are observed at all 21 stations, indicating that the seismograms are source-dominated. The VLP ground displacement response to each explosion may be qualitatively interpreted as: (1) pressurization of the conduit associated with the ascent of a slug of gas; (2) depressurization of the conduit in response to mass withdrawal during the eruption; and (3) repressurization of the conduit associated with the replenishment of the source with fluid.

Geophysical Research Letters↗

USGS1998

Bayesian statistics applied to the location of the source of explosions at Stromboli Volcano, Italy

We present a method for determining the location and spatial extent of the source of explosions at Stromboli Volcano, Italy, based on a Bayesian inversion of the slowness vector derived from frequency-slowness analyses of array data. The method searches for source locations that minimize the error between the expected and observed slowness vectors. For a given set of model parameters, the conditional probability density function of slowness vectors is approximated by a Gaussian distribution of expected errors. The method is tested with synthetics using a five-layer velocity model derived for the north flank of Stromboli and a smoothed velocity model derived from a power-law approximation of the layered structure. Application to data from Stromboli allows for a detailed examination of uncertainties in source location due to experimental errors and incomplete knowledge of the Earth model. Although the solutions are not constrained in the radial direction, excellent resolution is achieved in both transverse and depth directions. Under the assumption that the horizontal extent of the source does not exceed the crater dimension, the 90% confidence region in the estimate of the explosive source location corresponds to a small volume extending from a depth of about 100 m to a maximum depth of about 300 m beneath the active vents, with a maximum likelihood source region located in the 120- to 180-m-depth interval.

Stromboli Volcano↗

USGS1998

Shallow velocity structure of Stromboli Volcano, Italy, derived from small-aperture array measurements of Strombolian tremor

The properties of the tremor wave field at Stromboli are analyzed using data from small-aperture arrays of short-period seismometers deployed on the north flank of the volcano. The seismometers are configured in two semi-circular arrays with radii of 60 and 150 m and a linear array with length of 600 m. The data are analyzed using a spatiotemporal correlation technique specifically designed for the study of the stationary stochastic wave field of Rayleigh and Love waves generated by volcanic activity and by scattering sources distributed within the island. The correlation coefficients derived as a function of frequency for the three components of motion clearly define the dispersion characteristics for both Rayleigh and Love waves. Love and Rayleigh waves contribute 70% and 30%, respectively, of the surface-wave power. The phase velocities of Rayleigh waves range from 1000 m/sec at 2 Hz to 350 m/sec at 9 Hz, and those for Love waves range from 800 to 400 m/sec over the same frequency band. These velocities are similar to those measured near Puu Oo on the east rift of Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii, although the dispersion characteristics of Rayleigh waves at Stromboli show a stronger dependence on frequency. Such low velocities are consistent with values expected for densely cracked solidified basalt. The dispersion curves are inverted for a velocity model beneath the arrays, assuming those dispersions represent the fundamental modes of Rayleigh and Love waves.

Stromboli volcano↗

USGS1997

Source and path effects in the wave fields of tremor and explosions at Stromboli Volcano, Italy

The wave fields generated by Strombolian activity are investigated using data from small-aperture seismic arrays deployed on the north flank of Stromboli and data from seismic and pressure transducers set up near the summit crater. Measurements of slowness and azimuth as a function of time clearly indicate that the sources of tremor and explosions are located beneath the summit crater at depths shallower than 200 m with occasional bursts of energy originating from sources extending to a depth of 3 km. Slowness, azimuth, and particle motion measurements reveal a complex composition of body and surface waves associated with topography, structure, and source properties. Body waves originating at depths shallower than 200 m dominate the wave field at frequencies of 0.5–2.5 Hz, and surface waves generated by the surficial part of the source and by scattering sources distributed around the island dominate at frequencies above 2.5 Hz. The records of tremor and explosions are both dominated by SH motion. Far-field records from explosions start with radial motion, and near-field records from those events show dominantly horizontal motion and often start with a low-frequency (1–2 Hz) precursor characterized by elliptical particle motion, followed within a few seconds by a high-frequency radial phase (1–10 Hz) accompanying the eruption of pyroclastics. The dominant component of the near- and far-field particle motions from explosions, and the timing of air and body wave phases observed in the near field, are consistent with a gas-piston mechanism operating on a shallow (<200 m deep), vertical crack-like conduit. Models of a degassing fluid column suggest that noise emissions originating in the collective oscillations of bubbles ascending in the magma conduit may provide an adequate self-excitation mechanism for sustained tremor generation at Stromboli.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗

USGS1991

Fractal hierarchies of magma transport in Hawaii and critical self- organization of tremor

A hierarchical model of magma transport in Hawaii is developed from the seismic records of deep (30-60 km) and intermediate-depth (5-15 km) harmonic tremor between January 1, 1962, and December 31, 1983. A tremor model of magma transport is developed from mass balances of percolation that are proportional to tremor durations. It gives reasonable magma fractions and residence times for a vertical drift velocity of 4 km yr -1 and yields patterns of intermittency that are in accord with singularity analyses of the 22-year time series record. It is suggested that spatiotemporal universality extends from small to large scales in Hawaiian and other magmatic systems. The apparent universal scaling of frequencies may be more than 15 decades in time (1 s to about 60 m.y.) and 10 decades in length (0.1 mm to 10 3 km). -from Authors

Hawaii↗

USGS1990

Effect of anelastic and scattering structures of the lithosphere on the shape of local earthquake coda

A simple model of single acoustic scattering is used to study the dependence of the shape of local earthquake coda on the anelastic and scattering structures of the lithosphere. The model is applied to the coda of earthquakes located near Stone Canyon, central California, and provides an explanation for the features observed in the data, which include an interesting temporal variation in the coda shape. A surficial layer with a Q of 50 and thickness of 10 or 25 km underlain by a zone with a Q of 1000 extending to the bottom of the lithosphere, together with a scattering scale length, a, that varies with depth z according to the relation a=0.3 exp[-(z/45)2] are found to constitute the simplest structure of the medium compatible with the coda data and with body and surface wave attenuation data. The profile of heterogeneity sizes implies that the scattering strength increases strongly with depth, a constraint required by the necessity to boost the energy of the later coda without forcing the intrinsic Q to be excessively high in the uppermost mantle. This constraint is viewed as an artifact of the single scattering model which overstimates the scattering coefficient due to the neglect of multiple scattering. The observed temporal variation of the signal is difficult to explain by a simple change of the intrinsic Q at some depth. Rather, it is suggested that the scattering properties at depth changed with time through a variation of the fractional rms velocity fluctuation on the order of one percent. ?? 1990 Birkha??user Verlag.

Pure and Applied Geophysics PAGEOPH↗