Monitoring underwater volcano degassing using fiber-optic sensing.

Continuous monitoring of volcanic gas emissions is crucial for understanding volcanic activity and potential eruptions. However, emissions of volcanic gases underwater are infrequently studied or quantified. This study explores the potential of Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) technology to monitor underwater volcanic degassing. DAS converts fiber-optic cables into high-resolution vibration recording arrays, providing measurements at unprecedented spatio-temporal resolution. We conducted an experiment at Laacher See volcano in Germany, immersing a fiber-optic cable in the lake and interrogating it with a DAS system. We detected and analyzed numerous acoustic signals that we associated with bubble emissions in different lake areas. Three types of text-book bubbles exhibiting characteristic waveforms are all found from our detections, indicating different nucleation processes and bubble sizes. Using clustering algorithms, we classified bubble events into four distinct clusters based on their temporal and spectral characteristics. The temporal distribution of the events provided insights into the evolution of gas seepage patterns. This technology has the potential to revolutionize underwater degassing monitoring and provide valuable information for studying volcanic processes and estimating gas emissions. Furthermore, DAS can be applied to other applications, such as monitoring underwater carbon capture and storage operations or methane leaks associated with climate change.

Hidden pressurized fluids prior to the 2014 phreatic eruption at Mt Ontake.

A large fraction of volcanic eruptions does not expel magma at the surface. Such an eruption occurred at Mt Ontake in 2014, claiming the life of at least 58 hikers in what became the worst volcanic disaster in Japan in almost a century. Tens of scientific studies attempted to identify a precursor and to unravel the processes at work but overall remain inconclusive. By taking advantage of continuous seismic recordings, we uncover an intriguing sequence of correlated seismic velocity and volumetric strain changes starting 5 months before the eruption; a period previously considered as completely quiescent. We use various novel approaches such as covariance matrix eigenvalues distribution, cutting-edge deep-learning models, and ascribe such velocity pattern as reflecting critically stressed conditions in the upper portions of the volcano. These, in turn, later triggered detectable deformation and earthquakes. Our results shed light onto previously undetected pressurized fluids using stations located above the volcano-hydrothermal system and hold great potential for monitoring.

Atmospheric waves and global seismoacoustic observations of the January 2022 Hunga eruption, Tonga.

The 15 January 2022 climactic eruption of Hunga volcano, Tonga, produced an explosion in the atmosphere of a size that has not been documented in the modern geophysical record. The event generated a broad range of atmospheric waves observed globally by various ground-based and spaceborne instrumentation networks. Most prominent was the surface-guided Lamb wave (≲0.01 hertz), which we observed propagating for four (plus three antipodal) passages around Earth over 6 days. As measured by the Lamb wave amplitudes, the climactic Hunga explosion was comparable in size to that of the 1883 Krakatau eruption. The Hunga eruption produced remarkable globally detected infrasound (0.01 to 20 hertz), long-range (~10,000 kilometers) audible sound, and ionospheric perturbations. Seismometers worldwide recorded pure seismic and air-to-ground coupled waves. Air-to-sea coupling likely contributed to fast-arriving tsunamis. Here, we highlight exceptional observations of the atmospheric waves.

Seismic precursors to the Whakaari 2019 phreatic eruption are transferable to other eruptions and volcanoes.

Volcanic eruptions that occur without warning can be deadly in touristic and populated areas. Even with real-time geophysical monitoring, forecasting sudden eruptions is difficult, because their precursors are hard to recognize and can vary between volcanoes. Here, we describe a general seismic precursor signal for gas-driven eruptions, identified through correlation analysis of 18 well-recorded eruptions in New Zealand, Alaska, and Kamchatka. The precursor manifests in the displacement seismic amplitude ratio between medium (4.5-8 Hz) and high (8-16 Hz) frequency tremor bands, exhibiting a characteristic rise in the days prior to eruptions. We interpret this as formation of a hydrothermal seal that enables rapid pressurization of shallow groundwater. Applying this model to the 2019 eruption at Whakaari (New Zealand), we describe pressurization of the system in the week before the eruption, and cascading seal failure in the 16 h prior to the explosion. Real-time monitoring for this precursor may improve short-term eruption warning systems at certain volcanoes.

Global quieting of high-frequency seismic noise due to COVID-19 pandemic lockdown measures.

Human activity causes vibrations that propagate into the ground as high-frequency seismic waves. Measures to mitigate the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused widespread changes in human activity, leading to a months-long reduction in seismic noise of up to 50%. The 2020 seismic noise quiet period is the longest and most prominent global anthropogenic seismic noise reduction on record. Although the reduction is strongest at surface seismometers in populated areas, this seismic quiescence extends for many kilometers radially and hundreds of meters in depth. This quiet period provides an opportunity to detect subtle signals from subsurface seismic sources that would have been concealed in noisier times and to benchmark sources of anthropogenic noise. A strong correlation between seismic noise and independent measurements of human mobility suggests that seismology provides an absolute, real-time estimate of human activities.

Mobility of REE from a hyperacid brine to secondary minerals precipitated in a volcanic hydrothermal system: Kawah Ijen crater lake (Java, Indonesia).

Rare Earth Elements (REE; lanthanides and yttrium) are elements with high economic interest because they are critical elements for modern technologies. This study mainly focuses on the geochemical behavior of REE in hyperacid sulphate brines in volcanic-hydrothermal systems, where the precipitation of sulphate minerals occurs. Kawah Ijen lake, a hyperacid brine hosted in the Ijen caldera (Indonesia), was used as natural laboratory. ∑REE concentration in the lake water is high, ranging from 5.86 to 6.52 mg kg-1. The REE pattern of lake waters normalized to the average local volcanic rock is flat, suggesting isochemical dissolution. Minerals spontaneously precipitated in laboratory at 25 °C from water samples of Kawah Ijen were identified by XRD as gypsum. Microprobe analyses and the chemical composition of major constituents allow to identify possible other minerals precipitated: jarosite, Al-sulphate and Sr, Ba-sulphate. ∑REE concentration in minerals precipitated (mainly gypsum) range from 59.53 to 78.64 mg kg-1. The REE patterns of minerals precipitated normalized to the average local magmatic rock show enrichment in LREE. The REE distribution coefficient (KD), obtained from a ratio of its concentration in the minerals precipitated (mainly gypsum) and the lake water, shows higher values for LREE than HREE. KD-LREE/KD-HREE increases in the studied samples when the concentrations of BaO, MgO, Fe2O3, Al2O3, Na2O and the sum of total oxides (except SO3 and CaO) decrease in the solid phase. The presence of secondary minerals different than gypsum can be the cause of the distribution coefficient variations. High concentrations of REE in Kawah Ijen volcanic lake have to enhance the interest on these environments as possible REE reservoir, stimulating future investigations. The comparison of the KD calculated for REE after mineral precipitation (mainly gypsum) from Kawah Ijen and Poás hyperacid volcanic lakes allow to generalize that the gypsum precipitation removes the LREE from water.

Sensitivity to lunar cycles prior to the 2007 eruption of Ruapehu volcano.

A long-standing question in Earth Science is the extent to which seismic and volcanic activity can be regulated by tidal stresses, a repeatable and predictable external excitation induced by the Moon-Sun gravitational force. Fortnightly tides, a ~14-day amplitude modulation of the daily tidal stresses that is associated to lunar cycles, have been suggested to affect volcano dynamics. However, previous studies found contradictory results and remain mostly inconclusive. Here we study how fortnightly tides have affected Ruapehu volcano (New Zealand) from 2004 to 2016 by analysing the rolling correlation between lunar cycles and seismic amplitude recorded close to the crater. The long-term (~1-year) correlation is found to increase significantly (up to confidence level of 5-sigma) during the ~3 months preceding the 2007 phreatic eruption of Ruapehu, thus revealing that the volcano is sensitive to fortnightly tides when it is prone to explode. We show through a mechanistic model that the real-time monitoring of seismic sensitivity to lunar cycles may help to detect the clogging of active volcanic vents, and thus to better forecast phreatic volcanic eruptions.

Relative seismic velocity variations correlate with deformation at Kilauea volcano.

Seismic noise interferometry allows the continuous and real-time measurement of relative seismic velocity through a volcanic edifice. Because seismic velocity is sensitive to the pressurization state of the system, this method is an exciting new monitoring tool at active volcanoes. Despite the potential of this tool, no studies have yet comprehensively compared velocity to other geophysical observables on a short-term time scale at a volcano over a significant length of time. We use volcanic tremor (~0.3 to 1.0 Hz) at Kilauea as a passive source for interferometry to measure relative velocity changes with time. By cross-correlating the vertical component of day-long seismic records between ~230 station pairs, we extract coherent and temporally consistent coda wave signals with time lags of up to 120 s. Our resulting time series of relative velocity shows a remarkable correlation between relative velocity and the radial tilt record measured at Kilauea summit, consistently correlating on a time scale of days to weeks for almost the entire study period (June 2011 to November 2015). As the summit continually deforms in deflation-inflation events, the velocity decreases and increases, respectively. Modeling of strain at Kilauea suggests that, during inflation of the shallow magma reservoir (1 to 2 km below the surface), most of the edifice is dominated by compression-hence closing cracks and producing faster velocities-and vice versa. The excellent correlation between relative velocity and deformation in this study provides an opportunity to understand better the mechanisms causing seismic velocity changes at volcanoes, and therefore realize the potential of passive interferometry as a monitoring tool.