Geophysical examination of the 27 April 2016 Whakaari/White Island, New Zealand, eruption and its implications for vent physiognomies and eruptive dynamics
Authors:Walsh, Braden Procter, Jonathan Lokmer, Ivan Thun, Johannes Hurst, Tony Christenson, Bruce Jolly, Arthur
Volume:71
Published:2019
Document Type:Article
Abstract:At approximately 09:36 UTC on 27 April 2016, a phreatic eruption occurred on Whakaari Island (White Island) producing an eruption sequence that contained multiple eruptive pulses determined to have occurred over the first 30min, with a continuing tremor signal lasting similar to 2h after the pulsing sequence. To investigate the eruption dynamics, we used a combination of cross-correlation and coherence methods with acoustic data. To estimate locations for the eruptive pulses, seismic data were collected and eruption vent locations were inferred through the use of an amplitude source location method. We also investigated volcanic acoustic-seismic ratios for comparing inferred initiation depths of each pulse. Initial results show vent locations for the eruptive pulses were found to have possibly come from two separate locations only similar to 50m apart. These results compare favorably with acoustic lag time analysis. After error analysis, eruption sources are shown to conceivably come from a single vent, and differences in vent locations may not be constrained. Both vent location scenarios show that the eruption pulses gradually increase in strength with time, and that pulses 1, 3, 4, and 5 possibly came from a deeper source than pulses 2 and 6. We show herein that the characteristics and locations of volcanic eruptions can be better understood through joint analysis combining data from several data sources.
Author Information
Corresponding Author:Walsh, B (通讯作者)，Massey Univ, Inst Agr & Environm, Volcan Risk Solut, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Reprint Address:Walsh, B (通讯作者)，Massey Univ, Inst Agr & Environm, Volcan Risk Solut, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand.
Addresses:[Walsh, Braden; Procter, Jonathan] Massey Univ, Inst Agr & Environm, Volcan Risk Solut, Private Bag 11 222, Palmerston North 4442, New Zealand; [Lokmer, Ivan] Univ Coll Dublin, Sch Earth Sci, Dublin 4, Ireland; [Thun, Johannes] Czech Acad Sci, Inst Geophys, Prague, Czech Republic; [Hurst, Tony; Christenson, Bruce; Jolly, Arthur] GNS Sci, 1 Fairway Dr, Lower Hutt 5010, New Zealand
E-mail Addresses:B.Walsh@massey.ac.nz