RAPID: Seismic deployment in response to the 2018 Kilauea Lower East Rift Zone eruption and summit explosions

University Of Utah, Salt Lake City UT

Investigators

Abstract

The 2018 Kilauea volcano eruptive activities provide a rare opportunity to study the dynamic process of a volcano eruption and image the detailed magma plumbing system. In this RAPID seismic deployment project, the investigators plan to deploy a temporary seismometer array around the Kilauea volcano system including the summit within the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and lower east rift zone in the Puna District of Hawaii. The data recorded by the seismometers will help improve knowledge on how magma moves underground and its eruption process at the surface. The ongoing Kilauea volcanic activity produces a continuous threat to the residents and visitors of the Big Island of Hawaii. A better understanding of the magma pathways, the current status of the magma body, and the dynamic process associated with the volcanic activity will help USGS and local authorities to better develop future mitigation plans. The researchers will work closely with the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park to conduct the experiment and disseminate the scientific findings through their education and outreach programs to their over 2 million annual visitors. The goal of this RAPID proposal is to deploy a dense array of geophones on the southern region of the Big Island of Hawaii in response to the recent Kilauea volcanic activity. The reserachers propose to deploy three separate arrays that will cover the Kilauea summit, the Lower East Rift Zone (LERZ), and the area in between these two regions. The investigators plan to deploy ~110 autonomous three component Zland geophones to record continuous seismic signals for 30 days. Combined with the existing permanent seismic network, better earthquake and tremor source locations as well as 4D subsurface structure can be determined. The experiment should provide an unprecedented dataset to study Kilauea's volcanic plumbing system and magma migration. The raw seismic waveforms collected through the experiment will be archived at the IRIS DMC and distributed to the scientific community for analysis and redistribution immediately following the conclusion of the experiment. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.