Discovering the Magmatic Plumbing System Beneath Mount Erebus with its Seismic Activity

University Of New Mexico, Albuquerque NM

Investigators

Abstract

Non-technical abstract: Mount Erebus is an active volcano located on Ross Island in Antarctica, with frequent explosions in the lava lake at its summit. Although Mount Erebus has been active for several decades, much less is known about how magma is transported from the mantle to the lava lake at the summit. Prior seismological studies at Mount Erebus have focused on the explosions of the lava lake or the icequakes at the flanks of the volcano which only allow investigating the upper part of the magmatic plumbing system. However, these studies have not provided a systematic analysis of all the seismicity present at Mt. Erebus nor information about the deeper magmatic processes. This project will use artificial intelligence techniques to identify and locate new earthquakes in seismic data from the past three decades. These new earthquakes may highlight previously unconstrained parts of the magmatic system activity beneath Mt. Erebus. The project also will provide research opportunities to broaden the training of an early career researcher and one undergraduate student at the University of New Mexico. Technical abstract: This project will study the magmatic plumbing system beneath Mount Erebus (Antarctica), an active volcano with a lava lake at its summit. Mount Erebus has been active for several decades and multiple seismological stations have recorded seismic signals such as icequakes and explosions from the lava lake. However, there has not been a systematic analysis of the seismicity at Mount Erebus to test the frequency of other seismic signals such as volcano-tectonic events or deep long period events. This research will apply several deep learning algorithms to all publicly available seismic data with the objectives of detecting, locating, and characterizing the full range of seismicity at Mt. Erebus. This new comprehensive analysis of seismicity will better reveal the dynamics of the magmatic plumbing system and will answer key questions such as (i) What parts of the magmatic system are seismically active? (ii) Are there any changes in the seismicity rate or the type of seismicity before, during, or after the eruptive activity at the lava lake? and (iii) Does the seismicity reflect one or more physical mechanisms (slow fault ruptures, the resonance of a fluid-filled crack, magma degassing, etc.) within the volcano? 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.