Seeing the connection between neighboring volcanoes at depth
Scientists combined GPS time series and deformation models to determine that the magmatic systems of two neighboring volcanoes were connected at depth. They observed the Aira caldera in southern Japan steadily inflate until rapidly deflating in the period following the eruption of the Kirishima volcano. This deflation, which could not be explained by tectonic or volcanic stress changes, was interpreted as the Kirishima system pulling magma from the Aira system during the Kirishima replenishment phase. Such volcanic interaction processes could play an important role in eruption forecasting models.
Data Sources: GPS data from GEONET, daily position time series from the Nevada Geodetic Laboratory, and processing using GIPSY OASIS software and orbits from NASA JPL
Publications
Brothelande, E., Amelung, F., Yunjun, Z., Wdowinsi, S., Geodetic evidence for interconnectivity between Aira and Kirishima magmatic systems, Japan, Scientific Reports 8, Article number: 9811 (2018)
< Back to: A Year in Review
