9J (2024-2024): Anatomy and dynamics of volcanic systems: insights from a joint seismic tomography and seismicity analysis of Kilauea Volcano

• ETH Zurich

Magma storage and transport are the governing processes at the origin of volcanic activity. Yet, they remain largely unconstrained because they occur beneath the surface. The proposed research project focuses on building a new understanding of the architecture of magma reservoirs from the mantle to the crust with emphasis on clarifying the volume and distribution of melt in volcanic storage regions, and the loading it causes on nearby faults. The ultimate goal of this proposal is to advance the capability of data-driven geophysical models to constrain melt volumes, geometries, magma properties and fault loading, thus linking imaging to the ability to forecast eruption cycles and seismicity by gaining insights into the mass transport and rate changes through the entire system, including the factors that control stalling versus ascent of magmas. Kīlauea Volcano, Hawaiʻi, with its high seismicity rates currently observed over a wide range of depths both at the summit and in the rift zones, presents a remarkable opportunity to conduct such high-resolution mantle-to-crust seismic imaging effort. We propose to: (1) develop high-resolution 3D images of volumes and geometries of Kīlauea magmatic system using a new seismic joint inversion framework; (2) resolve the magma pathways geometries, and thus connecting magma storage to magma ascent and transport processes, by obtaining an enriched catalogue and refined relocations of shallow and deep volcanic earthquakes; (3) combine tomography and advanced analyses of the earthquake frequency-magnitude distribution with first-order modeling of stress conditions due to magma-fault interactions. Besides providing additional constraints on the physical properties of the magma/fluids, we will be able to use earthquake rates to calculate crustal stress changes and improve upon seismic and volcanic hazard assessment. This will be pivotal at Kīlauea where the décollement beneath the south flank is capable of generating magnitude 7 earthquakes. The proposed work, if funded, will help in answering key questions pertaining to Kīlauea's new eruptive phase, as well as to subsurface magmatic processes at other basaltic and hot spot volcanoes worldwide.

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