EPSS Colloquium fall-2018

Magma-tectonic interactions occur at scales from individual magmatic systems to plate boundaries. Numerous studies reveal spatial and temporal relationships between magma intrusions, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions. Field, geophysical, and modeling studies suggest earthquakes can trigger intrusions and volcanic activity; conversely, magma transport and storage can generate earthquakes via stress changes in surrounding country rock. In rifting events, magmatic fluids can also help release tectonic stresses. Volume change/amount of slip, source geometry and location of magma pathways and tectonic sources may be assessed through modeling of geodetically-imaged deformation sources. The physical processes that lead to ground deformation at restless volcanoes are also understood to drive microseismic activity in the form of volcano-tectonic earthquakes. Even if geodesy and seismology are recognized as the most useful geophysical tools for volcano monitoring, they are very rarely used synergistically. Here, we will show example of joint analyses of independent seismic and geodetic datasets to better constrain magma and faulting source characteristics, as well as their interactions, at active volcanoes located in several tectonic settings.