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Bean, Christopher J.
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Bean, Christopher J.
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Bean, Christopher J.
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Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
- PublicationSource mechanism of long period events recorded by a high density seismic network during the 2008 eruption on Mount Etna(American Geophysical Union, 2011-01)
; ; ; ; ; 129 Long Period (LP) events, divided into two families of similar events, were recorded by the 50 stations deployed on Mount Etna in the second half of June 2008. During this period lava was flowing from a lateral fracture after a summit strombolian eruption. In order to understand the mechanisms of these events, we perform moment tensor inversions. Inversions are initially kept unconstrained to estimate the most likely mechanism. Numerical tests show that unconstrained inversion leads to reliable moment tensor solutions because of the close proximity of numerous stations to the source positions. However, single forces cannot be accurately determined as they are very sensitive to uncertainties in the velocity model. Constrained inversions for a crack, a pipe or an explosion then allow us to accurately determine the structural orientations of the source mechanisms. Both numerical tests and LP event inversions emphasise the importance of using stations located as close as possible to the source. Inversions for both families show mechanisms with a strong volumetric component. These events are most likely generated by cracks striking SW-NE for both families and dipping 70 degrees SE (Family 1) and 50 degrees NW (Family 2). For Family 1 events, the crack geometry is nearly orthogonal to the dike-like structure along which events are located, while for Family 2 the location gave two pipe-like bodies which belong to the same plane as the crack mechanism. The orientations of the cracks are consistent with local tectonics, which shows a SW-NE weakness direction. The LP events appear to be a response to the lava fountain occurring on the 10th of May, 2008 as opposed to the flank lava flow.344Scopus© Citations 34 - PublicationEruptive fracture location forecasts from high frequency events on Piton de la Fournaise volcano(Wiley, 2013-09)
; ; ; ; Piton de la Fournaise (La Réunion island) is a very active basaltic volcano, with five eruptions between Nov 2009 and Dec 2010. Pre-eruptive seismic crises usually last for a few hours and mainly consist of a volcano-tectonic swarm. During the quiescent period between the volcano-tectonic swarm and the eruptive tremor, we identify another swarm of events with a very high frequency content. These events are shallow and are located close to the future eruption site. They seem associated with the opening of the path for the magma propagating laterally at shallow depth. As these events start to occur while the magma is still in a vertical propagation phase, this seismicity seems to be related with the generic response of the volcano to the stress perturbation and not directly induced by the magma pressure. This new observation brings new insights to short-term forecasting of the eruption location.312Scopus© Citations 14 - PublicationImaging magma storage below Teide volcano (Tenerife) using scattered seismic wavefields(Oxford University Press, 2012-11)
; ; ; ; Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) is a volcanic island dominated by the Teide-Pico Viejo complex, with a summit height of 3718 m. After renewed signs of activity starting in 2004, an active seismic experiment was performed in 2007 to derive a tomographic model and identify seismic anomalies possibly associated with the magmatic system. To complement the tomography, a double beam-forming analysis is applied on two orthogonal 2-D profiles crossing the island to look for evidence of the existence of a magma chamber. Numerical tests allow us to investigate the best measure of coherency between traces, and show that the correlation and nth root semblance methods give better results than the classical semblance. They also demonstrate that the technique is reliable for locating scattering structures at depth, even when the velocity model is imperfect. Applying this technique to the Tenerife data set, two main anomalies can be identified: one at approximately 7–9 km b.s.l. depth in the northern part of the island, and one shallower (1–4 km b.s.l.) beneath the main summit. These structures could be linked to the magmatic system, in good agreement with previous studies. The shallowest one may be the phonolitic storage area feeding the Teide-Pico Viejo complex, while the deepest structure may be related to the basaltic system.504Scopus© Citations 20 - PublicationLong-period seismicity in the shallow volcanic edifice formed from slow-rupture earthquakes(Nature Publishing Group, 2013-12-15)
; ; ; Despite recent technological advances in volcano monitoring, eruption forecasting is still inadequate. Improved forecasting requires a deeper understanding of when unrest will lead to an actual eruption. Shallow Long Period (low spectral frequency) seismic events are routinely employed as a primary tool in forecasting strategies as they often precede eruptions. They are universally explained as resonating fluid-filled cracks or conduits, indicating the presence of mechanically active near-surface fluids. We undertake very high resolution seismic field experiments at Mt Etna, Italy; Turrialba, Costa Rica and Ubinas, Peru, in which we find that seismogram resonance is propagation path related whilst the seismic sources comprise short pulses. Data analysis and numerical modelling show that slow-rupture failure in unconsolidated volcanic materials reproduces all key aspects of these new observations. Contrary to current interpretations, here we show that our observed Long Period events are not direct indicators of fluid presence/migration, but rather are markers for upper edifice deformation. This finding encapsulates this seismicity within growing observations of a spectrum of deformation rates in other non-volcanic environments, from slow-slip earthquakes through fast dynamic rupture. It calls for a reassessment of how lowfrequency seismic signals are interpreted in their key role in eruption forecasting.1076Scopus© Citations 125 - PublicationOrigin of spurious single forces in the course mechanism of volcanic seismicitySingle forces are often observed in the source mechanism of volcanic seismicity. However, their underlying causative processes are still doubtful. The reliability of single force observations must be assessed, prior to analyzing them in terms of physical mechanisms. Using numerical examples, we show that source mislocation and velocity mismodeling lead to strong spurious single forces. Layering in the velocity model produces converted S-waves and source mislocations modify the wavefield at the free surface (mainly through converted S- and surface waves). However, these waves can also be accurately reproduced in a homogeneous model by adding a vertical single force in the source mechanism, which mainly generates S-waves for large take-off angles. Hence approximate velocity models can lead to the appearance of strong single forces in source inversions. We conclude that, in moment tensor inversion, while single forces can be used in some cases to accommodate mismodeling errors, they cannot be reliably used to infer physical processes.
229Scopus© Citations 16 - PublicationTime reverse location of seismic long-period events recorded on Mt Etna(Oxford University Press, 2011-01)
; ; ; ; ; ; We present the first application of a time reverse location method in a volcanic setting, for a family of long-period events recorded on Mt Etna. Results are compared with locations determined using a full moment tensor grid search inversion and cross-correlation method. From June 18th to July 3rd, 2008, 50 broadband seismic stations were deployed on Mt Etna, Italy, in close proximity to the summit. Two families of long-period events were detected with dominant spectral peaks around 0.9 Hz. The large number of stations close to the summit allowed us to locate all events in both families using a time reversal location method. The method involves taking the seismic signal, reversing it in time, and using it as a seismic source in a numerical seismic wave simulator where the reversed signals propagate through the numerical model, interfere constructively and destructively, and focus on the original source location. The source location is the computational cell with the largest displacement magnitude at the time of maximum energy current density inside the grid. Before we located the two long-period families we first applied the method to two synthetic datasets and found a good fit between the time reverse location and true synthetic location for a known velocity model. The time reverse location results of the two families show a shallow seismic region close to the summit in agreement with the locations using a moment tensor full waveform inversion method and a cross-correlation location method.627Scopus© Citations 43 - PublicationInvestigating the source characteristics of long-period (LP) seismic events recorded on Piton de la Fournaise volcano, La Réunion(Elsevier, 2013-05-15)
; ; ; ; Magmatic and hydrothermal processes play a significant role in generating seismicity at active volcanoes. These signals can be recorded at the surface and can be used to obtain an insight into the volcano's internal dynamics. Long period (LP) events are of particular interest as they often accompany or precede volcanic eruptions, but they are still not well understood. Piton de la Fournaise volcano, La Réunion Island, is one of the most active volcanoes in the world however LP events are rarely recorded there. A seismic network of 20 broadband seismometers has been operational on Piton de la Fournaise volcano since November 2009. Between November 2009 and January 2011 the volcano erupted five times, but only 15 LP events were recorded. Three of these eruptions were preceded by LP events, and several LP events were recorded during an intrusive phase. A family of three repeating LP events exists within the dataset. In order to characterize these events we locate and perform moment tensor inversion on the LP family. The LP events are located within the summit crater at shallow depths (< 200 m below the surface). Inversions show that the source mechanism is best represented by a tensile crack with horizontal crack geometry. We also investigate the relationship between LP occurrence and eruptive characteristics (size of the eruption, deformation of the edifice, etc.), and we find that the events exist only during flank eruptions and can be generated by the activity of the hydrothermal system and/or by the deformation inside the crater.Scopus© Citations 13 536 - PublicationMoment tensor inversion for the source location and mechanism of long period (LP) seismic events from 2009 at Turrialba volcano, Costa Rica(Elsevier, 2013-05-15)
; ; ; ; ; ; Long-period (LP) seismic events were recorded during the temporary installation of a broadband seismic network of 13 stations from March to September 2009 on Turrialba volcano, Costa Rica. Over 6000 LPs were extracted using a modified STA/LTA method and a family consisting of 435 similar LP events has been identified. For the first time at Turrialba volcano, full-waveform moment tensor inversion is performed to jointly determine the location and source mechanism of the events. The LPs in the family are likely to be caused by crack mechanisms dipping towards the southwest at angles of approximately 10 to 20°, located at shallow depths (< 800 m) below the active Southwest and Central craters. As the locations are so shallow, the most probable causes of crack mechanisms are hydrothermal fluids resonating within or 'pulsing' through a crack. The waveforms observed at the summit stations suggest a 'pulsing' mechanism, but source resonance with a high degree of damping is also possible.504Scopus© Citations 15