Single station monitoring of volcanoes using seismic ambient noise

in Geophysical Research Letters (2016)

Seismic ambient noise cross correlation is increasingly used to monitor volcanic activity. However, this method is usually limited to volcanoes equipped with large and dense networks of broadband stations ... [more ▼]

Seismic ambient noise cross correlation is increasingly used to monitor volcanic activity. However, this method is usually limited to volcanoes equipped with large and dense networks of broadband stations. The single station approach may provide a powerful and reliable alternative to the classical “cross-stations” approach when measuring variation of seismic velocities. We implemented it on the Piton de la Fournaise in Reunion Island, a very active volcano with a remarkable multi-disciplinary continuous monitoring. Over the past decade, this volcano was increasingly studied using the traditional cross-correlation technique and therefore represents a unique laboratory to validate our approach. Our results, tested on stations located up to 3.5 km from the eruptive site, performed as well as the classical approach to detect the volcanic eruption in the 1-2 Hz frequency band. This opens new perspectives to successfully forecast volcanic activity at volcanoes equipped with a single 3-component seismometer. [less ▲]

Lake Toba volcano magma chamber imaged by ambient seismic noise tomography

in Geophysical Research Letters (2010), 37(17),

For the first time, ambient noise tomography is used to clearly image the magma chamber beneath Lake Toba caldera, one of the largest Quaternary calderas on Earth. Using data from 40 seismic stations ... [more ▼]

For the first time, ambient noise tomography is used to clearly image the magma chamber beneath Lake Toba caldera, one of the largest Quaternary calderas on Earth. Using data from 40 seismic stations deployed between May and October 2008 around Lake Toba, empirical Green’s functions are extracted from long term cross‐correlations of continuous records. These functions are dominated by Rayleigh waves, whose group velocities can be measured in the period range from 2.5 to 12 seconds. Arrival times of these waves are picked for a given period and inverted using 2‐D tomography to calculate lateral variations in velocity for the given period. This was done for six different periods, which all correspond to different sampling depths. Thus the six 2‐D models presented together provide information on velocity variations with depth. The results show a low‐velocity body coincident with the Lake Toba caldera, representing the magma chamber under the volcano. The chamber is observed to have a complex 3‐D geometry, with at least two separate sub‐chambers underlying the caldera. Other results include a deep low velocity body, possibly another magma chamber, south west of the lake with an upper limit of ∼7 km depth. The maximum depth to which this body reaches could not be resolved. The Sumatra Fault marks a velocity contrast, but only down to depths not greater than 5 km. The reliability of the results was further confirmed by checkerboard recovery tests. [less ▲]

Elastic uplift in southeast Greenland due to rapid ice mass lost

in Geophysical Research Letters (2007), 34(L21701), 1-6

The rapid unloading of ice from the southeastern sector of the Greenland ice sheet between 2001 and 2006 caused an elastic uplift of ~35 mm at a GPS site in Kulusuk. Most of the uplift results from ice ... [more ▼]

The rapid unloading of ice from the southeastern sector of the Greenland ice sheet between 2001 and 2006 caused an elastic uplift of ~35 mm at a GPS site in Kulusuk. Most of the uplift results from ice dynamic-induced volume losses on two nearby outlet glaciers. Volume loss from Helheim Glacier, calculated from sequential digital elevation models, contributes about ~16 mm of the observed uplift, with an additional ~5 mm from volume loss of Kangerdlugssuaq Glacier. The remaining uplift signal is attributed to significant melt-induced ice volume loss from the ice sheet margin along the southeast coast between 62°N and 66°N. [less ▲]

Atmospheric loading corrections applied to GPS data at the observation level

in Geophysical Research Letters (2005), 32(L22310), 1-4

Space-geodetic techniques can detect elastic deformation of the Earth caused by atmospheric pressure loading (ATML). However, it has not yet been demonstrated whether these surface displacements should be ... [more ▼]

Space-geodetic techniques can detect elastic deformation of the Earth caused by atmospheric pressure loading (ATML). However, it has not yet been demonstrated whether these surface displacements should be accounted for at the time of reduction of the observations or by applying time-averaged values to the coordinates after the analysis of the observations. An analysis of the power spectral density of the ATML predicted vertical deformation shows that, aside from the diurnal and semi-diurnal periods, there is very little power in the sub-daily frequencies. The present tidal ATML models improve the analysis at sites near the equator but seem to degrade the height estimates elsewhere. The majority of the non-tidal deformation can be modelled by applying a daily-averaged correction to daily estimates of coordinates but a greater improvement in height RMS is found if non-tidal ATML is applied at the observation level. [less ▲]

Crustal displacements due to continental water loading

in Geophysical Research Letters (2001), 28(4), 651-654

The effects of long-wavelength (>100 km), seasonal variability in continental water storage on vertical crustal motions are assessed. The modeled vertical displacements (ΔrM) have root-mean-square (RMS ... [more ▼]

The effects of long-wavelength (>100 km), seasonal variability in continental water storage on vertical crustal motions are assessed. The modeled vertical displacements (ΔrM) have root-mean-square (RMS) values for 1994–1998 as large as 8 mm, with ranges up to 30 mm, and are predominantly annual in character. Regional strains are on the order of 20 nanostrain for tilt and 5 nanostrain for horizontal deformation. We compare ΔrM with observed Global Positioning System (GPS) heights (ΔrO) (which include adjustments to remove estimated effects of atmospheric pressure and annual tidal and non-tidal ocean loading) for 147 globally distributed sites. When the ΔrO time series are adjusted by ΔrM, their variances are reduced, on average, by an amount equal to the variance of the ΔrM. Of the ΔrO time series exhibiting a strong annual signal, more than half are found to have an annual harmonic that is in phase and of comparable amplitude with the annual harmonic in the ΔrM. The ΔrM time series exhibit long-period variations that could be mistaken for secular tectonic trends or postglacial rebound when observed over a time span of a few years. [less ▲]

Measuring postglacial rebound with GPS and absolute gravity

in Geophysical Research Letters (2000), 27(23), 3925-3928

We compare vertical rates of deformation derived from continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) observations and episodic measurements of absolute gravity. We concentrate on 4 sites in a region of North ... [more ▼]

We compare vertical rates of deformation derived from continuous Global Positioning System (GPS) observations and episodic measurements of absolute gravity. We concentrate on 4 sites in a region of North America experiencing postglacial rebound. The rates of uplift from gravity and GPS agree within one standard deviation for all sites. The GPS vertical deformation rates are signi cantly more precise than the gravity rates, primarily because of the denser temporal spacing provided by continuous GPS tracking. We conclude that continuous GPS observations are more cost e cient and provide more precise estimates of vertical deformation rates than campaign style gravity observations where systematic errors are di cult to quantify. [less ▲]

Calibration of a superconducting gravimeter by comparison with an absolute gravimeter FG5 in Boulder

in Geophysical Research Letters (1998), 25(7), 1075-1078

M2 World Ocean Tide from Tide Gauge Measurements

in Geophysical Research Letters (1991), 18(6), 1167-1170