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>Return to Research
Detection and modeling of magma migration in volcanoes
The advent of interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) provides a powerful tool for detecting subareal surface deformation associated with shallow movement of magma in the Earth’s crust. In most cases, such movement is directly associated with volcanoes or calderas. Key questions we aim to address include: What is the depth and effective geometry of the magma chamber? What controls the magma chamber depth? Are their multiple stacked magma chambers? What is the relationship between magma chamber pressurization and eventual eruption and how does that vary between volcano types? Is there a relationship between rates of magma migration and regional large earthquakes? We have adopted two approaches to using InSAR to study the magmatic plumbing system. The first involves large area surveys of regions with multiple volcanoes to search for previously undetected activity and look for systematic regional characteristics of magmatic plumbing systems. The second approach involves detailed analysis of individual magmatic centers.
In a series of studies we surveyed large regions of the central Andes, and Kamchatka. In the case of central Andes, we found 4 active sources, none of which are associated with a recently erupting volcano and 1 of which has no volcanic edifice directly above it. Perhaps most surprising is the lack of observed deformation associated with volcanoes that are known to have erupted during the period of our observations (17, 24, 26, 27). We have also conducted a series of more detailed studies looking at deformation associated with Long Valley Caldera, the Coso geothermal field, and the Socorro magma body (6, 7, 9, 11). Our studies of Long Valley Caldera are ongoing as well as studies of volcano (and tectonic) deformation in Iceland.
27 Surveying Volcanic Arcs with Satellite Radar Interferometry: The Central Andes, Kamchatka, and Beyond, M. Pritchard, M. Simons, GSA Today, Vol. 14, No. 8, August 2004. [PDF]
26 An InSAR-based survey of volcanic deformation in the southern Andes, M. E. Pritchard, M. Simons, GRL, Vol. 31, 2004, L15610, doi:10.1029/2004GL02545, 2004. [PDF]24 An InSAR-based survey of volcanic deformation in the central Andes, M.E. Pritchard and M. Simons, G-cubed, 5, doi:10.1029/2003GC000610, February 7, 2004. [PDF]-
17 A satellite geodetic survey of large-scale deformation of volcanic centres in the central Andes, M. Pritchard and M. Simons, Nature, 418, 167-171, 2002. [PDF]
11 Evidence for on-going inflation of the Socorro magma body, New Mexico, from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging, Y. Fialko and M. Simons, Geophys. Res. Lett., Vol. 28, No.18, 3549-3552, 2001. [PDF]9 Deformation and seismicity in the Coso geothermal area, Inyo County, California: Observations and modeling using satellite radar interferometry, Y. Fialko and M. Simons, J. Geophys. Res., 105, 21,781-21,793, 2000. [PDF]
7 Finite source modeling of magmatic unrest in Socorro, New Mexico, and Long Valley, California, Y. Fialko, M. Simons, and Y. Khazan, Geophys. J. Int., 146, 191-200, 2001. [PDF]
6 Deformation due to a pressurized horizontal circular crack in an elastic half-space, with applications to volcano geodesy. Part I, Y. Fialko, Y. Khazan, and M. Simons, Geophys. J. Int., 146, 181-190, 2001. [PDF]
Mark Simons' Paper Collection: Entire paper including figures are all made available online (within the bounds of copyright restrictions).
