1. Spatiotemporal Variations of Focal Mechanism and In Situ Vp/Vs Ratio During the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption.
- Author
-
Lin, Guoqing and Shearer, Peter M.
- Subjects
- *
SHEAR waves , *RIFTS (Geology) , *VOLCANOES , *EARTHQUAKES , *CALDERAS - Abstract
We examine the spatiotemporal variations in seismic parameters corresponding to the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. We find that the summit area had mainly strike‐slip focal solutions prior to the eruption, whereas normal‐faulting was the predominant feature during the eruption, partially due to the collapse events. In contrast, the majority of the earthquakes in the central south flank had normal‐faulting solutions before December 2017, in agreement with the normal‐faulting of the Hilina Fault System, while there are more reverse solutions during the eruption. We also observe temporal variations in the estimated in situ Vp/Vs ratios corresponding to the eruption, with increases in the summit and decreases in the East Rift Zone. The sustained low Vp/Vs ratios below 4 km depth under the summit caldera may suggest persistent ascent of volatiles from the mantle. The low Vp/Vs values in the East Rift Zone are probably associated with increased degassing. Plain Language Summary: In this study, we investigate changes in earthquake faulting geometry and the ratio of compressional (P) wave speed to shear (S) wave speed in space and time that might be related to the 2018 Kīlauea volcano eruption. We find that the earthquake fault orientations changed in both the summit area and the central south flank as early as in December 2017, indicating that the internal forces within the volcano had changed months before the eruption. We also detect changes in the ratios of P to S wave speed corresponding to the eruption. Very low ratios are observed beneath the summit and the Lower East Rift Zone, which can be explained by the movement of volatiles. Our results suggest that seismic parameters can be very sensitive to volcanic activities and their detailed analyses have considerable potential for addressing key issues regarding the evolution of volcanic and tectonic activity. Key Points: Temporal changes in focal mechanisms are observed in December 2017Temporal variations in Vp/Vs ratios are resolved beneath the summit caldera and in the East Rift Zone [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF