Park, IseulIseulParkJolly, ArthurArthurJollyLokmer, IvanIvanLokmerKennedy, BenBenKennedy2021-09-142021-09-142020 the A2020-07-06Earth, Planets and Space1343-8832http://hdl.handle.net/10197/12469We have observed very long period earthquakes (VLPs) over the period 2007 to the end of 2019 at Whakaari/White Island volcano, New Zealand. The earthquakes exhibit similitude between waveforms which suggests repeating source locations and processes. VLPs recorded at two permanent stations were detected using waveform semblance and were then classified into two main families (F1 and F2) using a clustering analysis. The two families are characterized by ‘mirror image’ reverse waveform polarity suggesting that they are genetically related, but occur during different evolutionary phases of volcanic activity. F1 events occurred throughout the observation period, while F2 events mainly occurred as swarms that mark the onset of volcanic unrest. A detailed cluster analysis reveals possible sub-families implying slight temporal evolutions within a family. Our results add to our understanding of the volcanic magma–hydrothermal system at Whakaari/White Island indicating that relatively stable VLP sources may be exploited to improve monitoring for future unrest.[Figure not available: see fulltext.]enThis article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.VLPEarthquake familySwarmVolcanic unrestClustering analysisJournal Article72110.1186/s40623-020-01224-z2020-08-02https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ie/