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USGS2010

Source water controls on the character and origin of dissolved organic matter in streams of the Yukon River basin, Alaska

Climate warming and permafrost degradation at high latitudes will likely impact watershed hydrology, and consequently, alter the concentration and character of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in northern rivers. We examined seasonal variation of DOC chemistry in 16 streams of the Yukon River basin, Alaska. Our primary objective was to evaluate the relationship between source water (shallow versus deep groundwater flow paths) and DOC chemical composition. Using base cation chemistry and principal component analysis, we observed high contributions of deep groundwater to glacial and clearwater streams, whereas blackwater streams received larger contributions from shallow groundwater sources. DOC concentration and specific ultraviolet absorbance peaked during spring snowmelt in all streams, and were consistently higher in blackwater streams than in glacial and clearwater streams. The hydrophobic acid fraction of DOC dominated across all streams and seasons, comprising between 35% and 56% of total DOC. The hydrophilic acid fraction of DOC was more prominent in glacial (23% ± 3%) and clearwater streams (19% ± 1%) than in blackwater streams (16% ± 1%), and was enriched during winter base flow (29% ± 1%) relative to snowmelt and summer base flow. We observed that an increase in the contribution of deep groundwater to streamflow resulted in decreased DOC concentration, aromaticity, and DOC-to-dissolved organic nitrogen ratio, and an increase in the proportion of hydrophilic acids relative to hydrophobic acids. Our findings suggest that future permafrost degradation and higher contributions of groundwater to streamflow may result in a higher fraction of labile DOM in streams of the Yukon basin.

Journal of Geophysical Research G: Biogeosciences↗
USGS2010

Controls on mangrove forest‐atmosphere carbon dioxide exchanges in western Everglades National Park

We report on net ecosystem production (NEP) and key environmental controls on net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) between a mangrove forest and the atmosphere in the coastal Florida Everglades. An eddy covariance system deployed above the canopy was used to determine NEE during January 2004 through August 2005. Maximum daytime NEE ranged from −20 to −25 μ mol (CO 2 ) m −2 s −1 between March and May. Respiration (R d ) was highly variable (2.81 ± 2.41 μ mol (CO 2 ) m −2 s −1 ), reaching peak values during the summer wet season. During the winter dry season, forest CO 2 assimilation increased with the proportion of diffuse solar irradiance in response to greater radiative transfer in the forest canopy. Surface water salinity and tidal activity were also important controls on NEE. Daily light use efficiency was reduced at high (>34 parts per thousand (ppt)) compared to low (<17 ppt) salinity by 46%. Tidal inundation lowered daytime R d by ∼0.9 μ mol (CO 2 ) m −2 s −1 and nighttime R d by ∼0.5 μ mol (CO 2 ) m −2 s −1 . The forest was a sink for atmospheric CO 2 , with an annual NEP of 1170 ± 127 g C m −2 during 2004. This unusually high NEP was attributed to year‐round productivity and low ecosystem respiration which reached a maximum of only 3 g C m −2 d −1 . Tidal export of dissolved inorganic carbon derived from belowground respiration likely lowered the estimates of mangrove forest respiration. These results suggest that carbon balance in mangrove coastal systems will change in response to variable salinity and inundation patterns, possibly resulting from secular sea level rise and climate change.

Florida↗
USGS2010

A model‐data intercomparison of CO2 exchange across North America: Results from the North American Carbon Program site synthesis

Our current understanding of terrestrial carbon processes is represented in various models used to integrate and scale measurements of CO 2 exchange from remote sensing and other spatiotemporal data. Yet assessments are rarely conducted to determine how well models simulate carbon processes across vegetation types and environmental conditions. Using standardized data from the North American Carbon Program we compare observed and simulated monthly CO 2 exchange from 44 eddy covariance flux towers in North America and 22 terrestrial biosphere models. The analysis period spans ∼220 site‐years, 10 biomes, and includes two large‐scale drought events, providing a natural experiment to evaluate model skill as a function of drought and seasonality. We evaluate models' ability to simulate the seasonal cycle of CO 2 exchange using multiple model skill metrics and analyze links between model characteristics, site history, and model skill. Overall model performance was poor; the difference between observations and simulations was ∼10 times observational uncertainty, with forested ecosystems better predicted than nonforested. Model‐data agreement was highest in summer and in temperate evergreen forests. In contrast, model performance declined in spring and fall, especially in ecosystems with large deciduous components, and in dry periods during the growing season. Models used across multiple biomes and sites, the mean model ensemble, and a model using assimilated parameter values showed high consistency with observations. Models with the highest skill across all biomes all used prescribed canopy phenology, calculated NEE as the difference between GPP and ecosystem respiration, and did not use a daily time step.

Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences↗
USGS2011

Seismic swarm associated with the 2008 eruption of Kasatochi Volcano, Alaska: earthquake locations and source parameters

An energetic seismic swarm accompanied an eruption of Kasatochi Volcano in the central Aleutian volcanic arc in August of 2008. In retrospect, the first earthquakes in the swarm were detected about 1 month prior to the eruption onset. Activity in the swarm quickly intensified less than 48 h prior to the first large explosion and subsequently subsided with decline of eruptive activity. The largest earthquake measured as moment magnitude 5.8, and a dozen additional earthquakes were larger than magnitude 4. The swarm exhibited both tectonic and volcanic characteristics. Its shear failure earthquake features were b value = 0.9, most earthquakes with impulsive P and S arrivals and higher-frequency content, and earthquake faulting parameters consistent with regional tectonic stresses. Its volcanic or fluid-influenced seismicity features were volcanic tremor, large CLVD components in moment tensor solutions, and increasing magnitudes with time. Earthquake location tests suggest that the earthquakes occurred in a distributed volume elongated in the NS direction either directly under the volcano or within 5-10 km south of it. Following the M W 5.8 event, earthquakes occurred in a new crustal volume slightly east and north of the previous earthquakes. The central Aleutian Arc is a tectonically active region with seismicity occurring in the crusts of the Pacific and North American plates in addition to interplate events. We postulate that the Kasatochi seismic swarm was a manifestation of the complex interaction of tectonic and magmatic processes in the Earth's crust. Although magmatic intrusion triggered the earthquakes in the swarm, the earthquakes failed in context of the regional stress field.

Alaska↗
USGS2010

Analysis of nonvolcanic tremor on the San Andreas Fault near Parkfield, CA using U.S. Geological Survey Parkfield Seismic Array

Reports by Nadeau and Dolenc (2005) that tremor had been detected near Cholame Valley spawned an effort to use UPSAR (U. S. Geological Survey Parkfield Seismic Array) to study characteristics of tremor. UPSAR was modified to record three channels of velocity at 40–50 sps continuously in January 2005 and ran for about 1 month, during which time we recorded numerous episodes of tremor. One tremor, on 21 January at 0728, was recorded with particularly high signal levels as well as another episode 3 days later. Both events were very emergent, had a frequency content between 2 and 8 Hz, and had numerous high-amplitude, short-duration arrivals within the tremor signal. Here using the first episode as an example, we discuss an analysis procedure, which yields azimuth and apparent velocity of the tremor at UPSAR. We then provide locations for both tremor episodes. The emphasis here is how the tremor episode evolves. Twelve stations were operating at the time of recording. Slowness of arrivals was determined using cross correlation of pairs of stations; the same method used in analyzing the main shock data from 28 September 2004. A feature of this analysis is that 20 s of the time series were used at a time to calculate correlation; the longer windows resulted in more consistent estimates of slowness, but lower peak correlations. These values of correlation (peaks of about 0.25), however, are similar to that obtained for the S wave of a microearthquake. Observed peaks in slowness were traced back to source locations assumed to lie on the San Andreas fault. Our inferred locations for the two tremor events cluster near the locations of previously observed tremor, south of the Cholame Valley. Tremor source depths are in the 14–24 km range, which is below the seismogenic brittle zone, but above the Moho. Estimates of error do not preclude locations below the Moho, however. The tremor signal is very emergent but contains packets that are several times larger than the background tremor signal and lasts about 5 s. These impulsive wavelets are similar to low-frequency earthquakes signals seen in Japan but appear to be broader band rather than just higher in low-frequency energy. They may be more appropriately called high-energy tremor (HET). HET signals at UPSAR correlate well with the record of this event from station GHIB of the HRSN borehole array at Parkfield and HETs typically have a higher cross-correlation coefficient than the rest of the tremor event. The amplitudes of a large HET are consistent with a magnitude of 0.1 when compared with a M2.3 event that had about the same epicenter. Polarizations of the tremor episode at UPSAR are mostly just north of east. Both linearity and azimuth evolve over time suggesting a change in tremor source location over time and linearity is typically higher at the HETs.

California↗
USGS2011

Detecting aseismic strain transients from seismicity data

Aseismic deformation transients such as fluid flow, magma migration, and slow slip can trigger changes in seismicity rate. We present a method that can detect these seismicity rate variations and utilize these anomalies to constrain the underlying variations in stressing rate. Because ordinary aftershock sequences often obscure changes in the background seismicity caused by aseismic processes, we combine the stochastic Epidemic Type Aftershock Sequence model that describes aftershock sequences well and the physically based rate‐ and state‐dependent friction seismicity model into a single seismicity rate model that models both aftershock activity and changes in background seismicity rate. We implement this model into a data assimilation algorithm that inverts seismicity catalogs to estimate space‐time variations in stressing rate. We evaluate the method using a synthetic catalog, and then apply it to a catalog of M ≥ 1.5 events that occurred in the Salton Trough from 1990 to 2009. We validate our stressing rate estimates by comparing them to estimates from a geodetically derived slip model for a large creep event on the Obsidian Buttes fault. The results demonstrate that our approach can identify large aseismic deformation transients in a multidecade long earthquake catalog and roughly constrain the absolute magnitude of the stressing rate transients. Our method can therefore provide a way to detect aseismic transients in regions where geodetic resolution in space or time is poor.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

High‐resolution locations of triggered earthquakes and tomographic imaging of Kilauea Volcano's south flank

The spatiotemporal patterns of seismicity beneath Kilauea's south flank give insight to the structure and geometry of the decollement on which large, tsunamigenic earthquakes have occurred, and its relation to slow slip events (SSEs), which have been observed every 1 to 2 years since 1997. In order to record earthquakes triggered by a SSE that was predicted to occur in March 2007, a temporary network of 20 seismometers was deployed on Kilauea's south flank, termed the SEQ network. While the SSE did not occur until 17 June 2007, theSEQ network recorded over 3000 earthquakes, including those triggered by the SSE. We relocate hypocenters of volcano‐tectonic earthquakes and invert for P and S wave velocity structure using waveform cross‐correlation and double‐difference tomography using data from the SEQ network and the permanent Hawaii Volcano Observatory network (HVO) data, with additional data from other previous temporary arrays. The best‐constrained hypocenters, recorded by both the SEQ and HVO networks, indicate the decollement as a subhorizontal layer of seismicity at 8 km depth less than 1 km thick in most areas, with the western portion of the decollement dipping to the southeast. The seismicity triggered by the June 2007 SSE includes over 400 earthquakes overlapping with the southern edge of the decollement seismicity. A shallower swarm of earthquakes also occurred between 2 and 7 km depth in April 2007 near Apua Point, and may have been indirectly triggered by the M w 8.1 Solomon Islands earthquake at ∼6000 km distance, which occurred 48 h prior to the beginning of the swarm.

Hawaii↗
USGS2010

Magma flux at Okmok Volcano, Alaska, from a joint inversion of continuous GPS, campaign GPS, and interferometric synthetic aperture radar

Volcano deformation is usually measured using satellite geodetic techniques including interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR), campaign GPS, and continuous GPS. Differences in the spatial and temporal sampling of each system mean that most appropriate inversion scheme to determine the source parameters from each data set is different. Most studies either compare results from independent inversions or subsample the data sets to the lowest common factor. It is unclear whether differences in the solution reflect differences in source behavior, differences in measurement bias, or differences in inversion technique. Here we develop a single inversion procedure that captures the benefits of each system, especially the daily sampling of continuous GPS and the high spatial resolution of InSAR. Okmok Volcano, Alaska, is an ideal target for such a test because a long series (<15 years) of InSAR and continuous GPS measurement exists and the source is almost continuously active and in a stable location.

Alaska↗
USGS2010

Aftershocks are well aligned with the background stress field, contradicting the hypothesis of highly-heterogeneous crustal stress

It has been proposed that the crustal stress field contains small-length-scale heterogeneity of much larger amplitude than the uniform background stress. This model predicts that earthquake focal mechanisms should reflect the loading stress rather than the uniform background stress. So, if the heterogeneous stress hypothesis is correct, focal mechanisms before and after a large earthquake should align with the tectonic loading and the earthquake-induced static stress perturbation, respectively. However, I show that the off-fault triggered aftershocks of the 1992 M7.3 Landers, California, earthquake align with the same stress field as the pre-Landers mechanisms. The aftershocks occurred on faults that were well oriented for failure in the pre-Landers stress field and then loaded by the Landers-induced static stress change. Aftershocks in regions experiencing a 0.05 to 5 MPa coseismic differential stress change align with the modeled Landers-induced static stress change, implying that they were triggered by the stress perturbation. Contrary to the heterogeneous stress hypothesis, these triggered aftershocks are also well aligned with the pre-Landers stress field obtained from inverting the pre-Landers focal mechanisms. Therefore, the inverted pre-Landers stress must represent the persistent background stress field. Earthquake focal mechanisms provide an unbiased sample of the spatially coherent background stress field, which is large relative to any small-scale stress heterogeneity. The counterexample provided by the Landers earthquake is strong evidence that the heterogeneous stress model is not widely applicable.

California↗
USGS2011

Volcanic plume height measured by seismic waves based on a mechanical model

In August 2008 an unmonitored, largely unstudied Aleutian volcano, Kasatochi, erupted catastrophically. Here we use seismic data to infer the height of large eruptive columns such as those of Kasatochi based on a combination of existing fluid and solid mechanical models. In so doing, we propose a connection between a common, observable, short-period seismic wave amplitude to the physics of an eruptive column. To construct a combined model, we estimate the mass ejection rate of material from the vent on the basis of the plume height, assuming that the height is controlled by thermal buoyancy for a continuous plume. Using the estimated mass ejection rate, we then derive the equivalent vertical force on the Earth through a momentum balance. Finally, we calculate the far-field surface waves resulting from the vertical force. The model performs well for recent eruptions of Kasatochi and Augustine volcanoes if v , the velocity of material exiting the vent, is 120-230 m s -1 . The consistency between the seismically inferred and measured plume heights indicates that in these cases the far-field ~1 s seismic energy radiated by fluctuating flow in the volcanic jet during the eruption is a useful indicator of overall mass ejection rates. Thus, use of the model holds promise for characterizing eruptions and evaluating ash hazards to aircraft in real time on the basis of far-field short-period seismic data. This study emphasizes the need for better measurements of eruptive plume heights and a more detailed understanding of the full spectrum of seismic energy radiated coeruptively.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

Infrasonic harmonic tremor and degassing bursts from Halema'uma'u Crater, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii

The formation, evolution, collapse, and subsequent resurrection of a vent within Halema'uma'u Crater, Kilauea Volcano, produced energetic and varied degassing signals recorded by a nearby infrasound array between 2008 and early 2009. After 25 years of quiescence, a vent-clearing explosive burst on 19 March 2008 produced a clear, complex acoustic signal. Near-continuous harmonic infrasonic tremor followed this burst until 4 December 2008, when a period of decreased degassing occurred. The tremor spectra suggest volume oscillation and reverberation of a shallow gas-filled cavity beneath the vent. The dominant tremor peak can be sustained through Helmholtz oscillations of the cavity, while the secondary tremor peak and overtones are interpreted assuming acoustic resonance. The dominant tremor frequency matches the oscillation frequency of the gas emanating from the vent observed by video. Tremor spectra and power are also correlated with cavity geometry and dynamics, with the cavity depth estimated at ~219 m and volume ~3 x 10 6 m 3 in November 2008. Over 21 varied degassing bursts were observed with extended burst durations and frequency content consistent with a transient release of gas exciting the cavity into resonance. Correlation of infrasound with seismicity suggests an open system connecting the atmosphere to the seismic excitation process at depth. Numerous degassing bursts produced very long period (0.03-0.1 Hz) infrasound, the first recorded at Kilauea, indicative of long-duration atmospheric accelerations. Kilauea infrasound appears controlled by the exsolution of gas from the magma, and the interaction of this gas with the conduits and cavities confining it.

Hawai'i↗
USGS2011

Stress transfer among en echelon and opposing thrusts and tear faults: Triggering caused by the 2003 M w = 6.9 Zemmouri, Algeria, earthquake

The essential features of stress interaction among earthquakes on en echelon thrusts and tear faults were investigated, first through idealized examples and then by study of thrust faulting in Algeria. We calculated coseismic stress changes caused by the 2003 M w = 6.9 Zemmouri earthquake, finding that a large majority of the Zemmouri afterslip sites were brought several bars closer to Coulomb failure by the coseismic stresses, while the majority of aftershock nodal planes were brought closer to failure by an average of ~2 bars. Further, we calculated that the shallow portions of the adjacent Thenia tear fault, which sustained ~0.25 m slip, were brought >2 bars closer to failure. We calculated that the Coulomb stress increased by 1.5 bars on the deeper portions of the adjacent Boumerdes thrust, which lies just 10–20 km from the city of Algiers; both the Boumerdes and Thenia faults were illuminated by aftershocks. Over the next 6 years, the entire south dipping thrust system extending 80 km to the southwest experienced an increased rate of seismicity. The stress also increased by 0.4 bar on the east Sahel thrust fault west of the Zemmouri rupture. Algiers suffered large damaging earthquakes in A.D. 1365 and 1716 and is today home to 3 million people. If these shocks occurred on the east Sahel fault and if it has a ~2 mm/yr tectonic loading rate, then enough loading has accumulated to produce a M w = 6.6–6.9 shock today. Thus, these potentially lethal faults need better understanding of their slip rate and earthquake history.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2010

Postseismic relaxation following the 1994 M w 6.7 Northridge earthquake, southern California

We have reexamined the postearthquake deformation of a 65 km long linear array of 11 geodetic monuments extending north–south across the rupture (reverse slip on a blind thrust dipping 40°S–20°W) associated with the 1994 M w 6.7 Northridge earthquake. That array was surveyed frequently in the interval from 4 to 2650 days after the earthquake. The velocity of each of the monuments over the interval 100–2650 days postearthquake appears to be constant. Moreover, the profile of those velocities along the length of the array is very similar to a preearthquake velocity profile for a nearby, similarly oriented array. We take this to indicate that significant postseismic relaxation is evident only in the first 100 days postseismic and that the subsequent linear trend is typical of the interseismic interval. The postseismic relaxation (postseismic displacement less displacement that would have occurred at the preseismic velocity) is found to be almost wholly parallel (N70°W) to the nearby (40 km) San Andreas Fault with only negligible relaxation in the direction of coseismic slip (N20°E) on the Northridge rupture. We suggest that the N70°W relaxation is caused by aseismic, right-lateral slip at depth on the San Andreas Fault, excess slip presumably triggered by the Northridge rupture. Finally, using the Dieterich (1994) stress-seismicity relation, we show that return to the preseismic deformation rate within 100 days following the earthquake could be consistent with the cumulative number of M > 2.5 earthquakes observed following the main shock.

California↗
USGS2011

Toward a consistent model for strain accrual and release for the New Madrid Seismic Zone, central United States

At the heart of the conundrum of seismogenesis in the New Madrid Seismic Zone is the apparently substantial discrepancy between low strain rate and high recent seismic moment release. In this study we revisit the magnitudes of the four principal 1811–1812 earthquakes using intensity values determined from individual assessments from four experts. Using these values and the grid search method of Bakun and Wentworth (1997), we estimate magnitudes around 7.0 for all four events, values that are significantly lower than previously published magnitude estimates based on macroseismic intensities. We further show that the strain rate predicted from postglacial rebound is sufficient to produce a sequence with the moment release of one M max 6.8 every 500 years, a rate that is much lower than previous estimates of late Holocene moment release. However, M w 6.8 is at the low end of the uncertainty range inferred from analysis of intensities for the largest 1811–1812 event. We show that M w 6.8 is also a reasonable value for the largest main shock given a plausible rupture scenario. One can also construct a range of consistent models that permit a somewhat higher M max , with a longer average recurrence rate. It is thus possible to reconcile predicted strain and seismic moment release rates with alternative models: one in which 1811–1812 sequences occur every 500 years, with the largest events being M max ∼6.8, or one in which sequences occur, on average, less frequently, with Mmax of ∼7.0. Both models predict that the late Holocene rate of activity will continue for the next few to 10 thousand years.

New Madrid Seismic Zone↗
USGS2010

Subevents of long-period seismicity: implications for hydrothermal dynamics during the 2004-2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens

One of the most striking aspects of seismicity during the 2004–2008 eruption of Mount St. Helens (MSH) was the precise regularity in occurrence of repetitive long-period (LP) or “drumbeat” events over sustained time periods. However, this precise regularity was not always observed, and at times the temporal occurrence of LP events became more random. In addition, accompanying the dominant LP class of events during the 2004–2008 MSH eruption, there was a near-continuous, randomly occurring series of smaller seismic events. These subevents are not always simply small-amplitude versions of the dominant LP class of events but appear instead to result from a separate random process only loosely coupled to the main LP source mechanism. We present an analysis of the interevent time and amplitude distributions of the subevents, using waveform cross correlation to separate LP events from the subevents. We also discuss seismic tremor that accompanied the 8 March 2005 phreatic explosion event at MSH. This tremor consists of a rapid succession of LPs and subevents triggered during the explosion, in addition to broadband noise from the sustained degassing. Immediately afterward, seismicity returned to the pre-explosion occurrence pattern. This triggering in relation to the rapid ejection of steam from the system, and subsequent return to pre-explosion seismicity, suggests that both seismic event types originated in a region of the subsurface hydrothermal system that was (1) in contact with the reservoir feeding the 8 March 2005 phreatic explosion but (2) not destroyed or drained by the explosion event. Finally, we discuss possible thermodynamic conditions in a pressurized hydrothermal crack that could give rise to seismicity. Pressure drop estimates for typical LP events are not generally large enough to perturb pure water in a shallow hydrothermal crack into an unstable state. However, dissolved volatiles such as CO 2 may lead to a more unstable system, increasing the seismogenic potential of a hydrothermal crack subject to rapid heat flux. The interaction of hydrothermal and magmatic systems beneath MSH in 2004–2008 thus appears able to explain a wide range of observed phenomena, including subevents, LP events, larger (M d > 2) events, and phreatic explosions.

Washington↗
USGS2011

Frictional strengths of talc-serpentine and talc-quartz mixtures

Talc is a constituent of faults in a variety of settings, and it may be an effective weakening agent depending on its abundance and distribution within a fault. We conducted frictional strength experiments under hydrothermal conditions to determine the effect of talc on the strengths of synthetic gouges of lizardite and antigorite serpentinites and of quartz. Small amounts of talc weaken serpentinite gouges substantially more than predicted by simple weight averaging. In comparison, mixtures of quartz and talc show a linear trend of strength reduction at talc concentrations 15 wt % and enhanced weakening at higher concentrations. All of the strength data are fit by a modified version of the Reuss mixing law that allows for the dominance of one mineral over the other. The difference in the behavior of serpentinite-talc and quartz-talc mixtures at low talc concentrations is a reflection of their different textures. Lizardite, antigorite, and talc all have platy habits, and displacement within gouges composed of these minerals is localized to narrow shears along which the platy grains have rotated into alignment with the shear surfaces. The shears in the mixed phyllosilicate gouges maximize the proportion of the weaker mineral within them. When mixed with a strong, rounded mineral such as quartz, some minimum concentration of talc is needed to form connected pathways that enhance strength reductions. The typical development of talc by the reaction of Si-rich fluids with serpentinite or dolomite would tend to localize its occurrence in a natural fault and result in enhanced weakening.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2011

Multiplets: Their behavior and utility at dacitic and andesitic volcanic centers

Multiplets, or groups of earthquakes with similar waveforms, are commonly observed at volcanoes, particularly those exhibiting unrest. Using triggered seismic data from the 1980-1986 Mount St. Helens (MSH) eruption, we have constructed a catalog of multiplet occurrence. Our analysis reveals that the occurrence of multiplets is related, at least in part, to the viscosity of the magma. We also constructed catalogs of multiplet occurrence using continuous seismic data from the 2004 eruption at MSH and 2007 eruption at Bezymianny Volcano, Russia. Prior to explosions at MSH in 2004 and Bezymianny in 2007, the multiplet proportion of total seismicity (MPTS) declined, while the average amplitudes and standard deviations of the average amplitude increased. The life spans of multiplets (time between the first and last event) were also shorter prior to explosions than during passive lava extrusion. Dome-forming eruptions that include a partially solidified plug, like MSH (1983-1986 and 2004-2008), often possess multiplets with longer life spans and MPTS values exceeding 50%. Conceptually, the relatively unstable environment prior to explosions is characterized by large and variable stress gradients brought about by rapidly changing overpressures within the conduit. We infer that such complex stress fields affect the number of concurrent families, MPTS, average amplitude, and standard deviation of the amplitude of the multiplets. We also argue that multiplet detection may be an important new monitoring tool for determining the timing of explosions and in forecasting the type of eruption.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗
USGS2011

Elevated gas hydrate saturation within silt and silty clay sediments in the Shenhu area, South China Sea

Gas hydrate saturations were estimated using five different methods in silt and silty clay foraminiferous sediments from drill hole SH2 in the South China Sea. Gas hydrate saturations derived from observed pore water chloride values in core samples range from 10 to 45% of the pore space at 190–221 m below seafloor (mbsf). Gas hydrate saturations estimated from resistivity (R t ) using wireline logging results are similar and range from 10 to 40.5% in the pore space. Gas hydrate saturations were also estimated by P wave velocity obtained during wireline logging by using a simplified three-phase equation (STPE) and effective medium theory (EMT) models. Gas hydrate saturations obtained from the STPE velocity model (41.0% maximum) are slightly higher than those calculated with the EMT velocity model (38.5% maximum). Methane analysis from a 69 cm long depressurized core from the hydrate-bearing sediment zone indicates that gas hydrate saturation is about 27.08% of the pore space at 197.5 mbsf. Results from the five methods show similar values and nearly identical trends in gas hydrate saturations above the base of the gas hydrate stability zone at depths of 190 to 221 mbsf. Gas hydrate occurs within units of clayey slit and silt containing abundant calcareous nannofossils and foraminifer, which increase the porosities of the fine-grained sediments and provide space for enhanced gas hydrate formation. In addition, gas chimneys, faults, and fractures identified from three-dimensional (3-D) and high-resolution two-dimensional (2-D) seismic data provide pathways for fluids migrating into the gas hydrate stability zone which transport methane for the formation of gas hydrate. Sedimentation and local canyon migration may contribute to higher gas hydrate saturations near the base of the stability zone.

Journal of Geophysical Research B: Solid Earth↗