Magma accumulation and inflation mechanisms at Fernandina volcano, Galapagos Islands

加拉帕戈斯群岛费尔南迪纳火山的岩浆积累和通货膨胀机制

• 批准号: NE/X016986/1
• 负责人: Andrew Bell
• 金额: $ 8.33万
• 依托单位: University of Edinburgh
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2022 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FX016986%2F1
• 关键词: Magma; accumulation; inflation; mechanisms; Fernandina

Volcanism involving molten rock ('magma') with a low silica content ('basalt') is a fundamental component of the Earth system, critical to continental break-up, formation of new oceanic crust, and the growth of ocean islands. Basaltic volcanism also poses a significant hazard to those living near such volcanoes, destroying property, infrastructure, and livelihoods through lava flows, tephra fall, and gas emissions. The timing, size, style, and location of such eruptions is determined by the ascent, storage, and migration of magma, which take place under the ground, hidden from direct observation. Consequently, much of our understanding relies on measurements of small earthquakes and deformation of the Earth's surface caused by the movement of magma. We will make new measurements of the earthquakes that result from the accumulation of magma at Fernandina, a large and very active volcano in the western Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Since August 2022, the observation of earthquakes and uplift at Fernandina indicate that large volumes of magma are ascending to shallow levels in the volcano, potentially heralding a future eruption. However, the remote location of Fernandina means that the existing monitoring network is not able to record this activity with the resolution necessary to understand the key processes that are taking place. By urgently installing a dense network of modern seismometers, we will capture an important and novel dataset which will tell us about how the volcano accommodates the new magma and the internal structure and properties of the volcano. These data will underpin new approaches to modelling the behaviour of these systems, and ultimately to be better able to forecast future eruptions worldwide.

涉及低硅含量熔岩（“岩浆”）（“玄武岩”）的火山活动是地球系统的基本组成部分，对于大陆分裂、新洋壳的形成以及玄武岩火山活动的形成至关重要。火山喷发还对居住在此类火山附近的人们造成重大危害，通过熔岩流、火山灰坠落和气体排放破坏财产、基础设施和生计。岩浆的上升、储存和迁移是由岩浆的上升、储存和迁移决定的，这些岩浆发生在地下，无法直接观察到，我们的大部分理解依赖于对小地震和岩浆运动引起的地球表面变形的测量。我们将对厄瓜多尔加拉帕戈斯群岛西部的费尔南迪纳火山岩浆堆积引起的地震进行新的测量，自 2022 年 8 月以来，我们对费尔南迪纳火山的地震和隆起进行了观测。费尔南迪纳表示，大量岩浆正在上升到火山的浅层，这可能预示着未来的喷发。然而，费尔南迪纳的位置偏远，这意味着现有的监测网络无法以了解关键信息所需的分辨率记录这一活动。通过紧急安装密集的现代地震仪网络，我们将捕获一个重要且新颖的数据集，该数据集将告诉我们火山如何容纳新的岩浆以及火山的内部结构和特性。新的对这些系统的行为进行建模的方法，并最终能够更好地预测全球未来的火山喷发。