Volcanología

In Tenerife there are a vast number of sub-horizontal blind water mines, called “galleries”. Seven air and soil temperatures and CO2 concentration profiles in air were carried out inside the Río de Guía gallery (hereinafter RdG). An anomalous stable maximum temperature point (hereinafter MTP) was found around 2000 m from the entrance. During the warm period, a clear CO2 stagnation was detected before MTP, showing concentrations up to 14,000 ppm. In order to study gas emission and its dynamics inside the gallery, four stations were deployed around MTP. All stations recorded air and soil temperatures, and CO2 and Rn concentration in air from November 2009 to January 2011. After analyzing this dataset, it was possible to characterize the influence of MTP. This thermal anomaly divided the gallery into two sections. In the cold period, the outer section located outwards from MTP became colder while the inner section warmed up owing to a less heat transfer into the deepest part of the gallery. There were several short periods when variations in barometric pressure created an advection movement that was able to temporally change the gas behavior inside the gallery. Two soil gas samples were taken around MTP and their δ13C (CO2) ratios suggested a magmatic origin. All data were combined to create a model for the gas and thermal dynamics inside the gallery. This model, together with identification of background levels in each parameter, allows to identify any anomalous signal that could be elated with changes in volcanic activity.

After 20 years of quiescence, Fogo volcano erupted in November 2014. The eruption produced fast‐moving lava flows that traveled for several kilometers and destroyed two villages. This event represents the first episode of significant surface deformation imaged by the new European Space Agency's Sentinel‐1 satellite in its standard acquisition mode, Terrain Observation by Progressive Scans (TOPS), which differs from that of previous synthetic aperture radar (SAR) missions. We perform a Bayesian inversion of Sentinel‐1 TOPS SAR interferograms spanning the eruption and accurately account for variations in the TOPS line‐of‐sight vector when modeling displacements. Our results show that magma ascended beneath the Pico do Fogo cone and then moved laterally toward its southwestern flank, where the eruptive fissure opened. This study provides important insights into the inner workings of Fogo volcano and shows the potential of Sentinel‐1 TOPS interferometry for geophysical (e.g., volcano monitoring) applications.

[1] Starting in July 2011, anomalous seismicity was observed at El Hierro Island, a young oceanic island volcano. On 12 October 2011, the process led to the beginning of a submarine NW‐SE fissural eruption at ~15 km from the initial earthquake loci, indicative of significant lateral magma migration. Here we conduct a multifrequency, multisensor interferometric analysis of spaceborne radar images acquired using three different satellite systems (RADARSAT‐2, ENVISAT, and COSMO‐SkyMed (Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean Basin Observation)). The data fully captures both the pre‐eruptive and coeruptive phases. Elastic modeling of the ground deformation is employed to constrain the dynamics associated with the magmatic activity. This study represents the first geodetically constrained active magmatic plumbing system model for any of the Canary Islands volcanoes, and one of the few examples of submarine volcanic activity to date. Geodetic results reveal two spatially distinct shallow (crustal) magma reservoirs, a deeper central source (9.5 ± 4.0 km), and a shallower magma reservoir at the flank of the southern rift (4.5 ± 2.0 km). The deeper source was recharged, explaining the relatively long basaltic eruption, contributing to the observed island‐wide uplift processes, and validating proposed active magma underplating. The shallowest source may be an incipient reservoir that facilitates fractional crystallization as observed at other Canary Islands. Data from this eruption supports a relationship between the depth of the shallow crustal magmatic systems and the long‐term magma supply rate and oceanic lithospheric age. Such a relationship implies that a factor controlling the existence/depth of shallow (crustal) magmatic systems in oceanic island volcanoes is the lithosphere thermomechanical behavior.

The Himalayan mountain range has been the locus of some of the largest continental earthquakes, including the 2015 magnitude 7.8 Gorkha earthquake. Competing hypotheses suggest that Himalayan topography is sustained and plate convergence is accommodated either predominantly on the main plate boundary fault, or more broadly across multiple smaller thrust faults. Here we use geodetic measurements of surface displacement to show that the Gorkha earthquake ruptured the Main Himalayan Thrust fault. The earthquake generated about 1 m of uplift in the Kathmandu Basin, yet caused the high Himalaya farther north to subside by about 0.6 m. We use the geodetic data, combined with geologic, geomorphological and geophysical analyses, to constrain the geometry of the Main Himalayan Thrust in the Kathmandu area. Structural analyses together with interseismic and coseismic displacements are best explained by a steep, shallow thrust fault flattening at depth between 5 and 15 km and connecting to a mid-crustal, steeper thrust. We suggest that present-day convergence across the Himalaya is mostly accommodated by this fault—no significant motion on smaller thrust faults is required. Furthermore, given that the Gorkha earthquake caused the high Himalayan mountains to subside and that our fault geometry explains measured interseismic displacements, we propose that growth of Himalayan topography may largely occur during the ongoing post-seismic phase.

Observations that unequivocally link seismicity and wastewater injection are scarce. Here we show that wastewater injection in eastern Texas causes uplift, detectable in radar interferometric data up to >8 kilometers from the wells. Using measurements of uplift, reported injection data, and a poroelastic model, we computed the crustal strain and pore pressure. We infer that an increase of >1 megapascal in pore pressure in rocks with low compressibility triggers earthquakes, including the 4.8–moment magnitude event that occurred on 17 May 2012, the largest earthquake recorded in eastern Texas. Seismic activity increased even while injection rates declined, owing to diffusion of pore pressure from earlier periods with higher injection rates. Induced seismicity potential is suppressed where tight confining formations prevent pore pressure from propagating into crystalline basement rocks.

Resolving changes in topography through time using accurate high‐resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) is key to understanding active volcanic processes. For the first time in a volcanic environment, we utilize very high‐resolution tri‐stereo optical imagery acquired by the Pleiades‐1 satellite constellation and generate a 1 m resolution DEM of Fogo Volcano, Cape Verde—the most active volcano in the Eastern Atlantic region. Point cloud density is increased by a factor of 6.5 compared to conventional stereo imagery, and the number of 1 m2 pixels with no height measurements is reduced by 43%. We use the DEM to quantify topographic changes associated with the 2014–2015 eruption at Fogo. Height differences between the posteruptive Pleiades‐1 DEM and the preeruptive topography from TanDEM‐X give a lava flow volume of 45.83 ± 0.02 × 106 m3, emplaced over an area of 4.8 km2 at a mean rate of 6.8 m3 s−1.