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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS,
VOL. 32,
L15304,
doi:10.1029/2005GL022847,
2005
Poor scaling between elastic energy release and eruption intensity at Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador
Jeffrey B. Johnson
Department of Earth Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA
Mario C. Ruiz
Department of Geological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA Instituto Geofisico, Escuela Politecnica Nacional (IG-EPN), Quito, Ecuador
Jonathan M. Lees
Department of Geological Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
Patricio Ramon
Instituto Geofisico, Escuela Politecnica Nacional (IG-EPN), Quito, Ecuador
Abstract
An important objective in volcanology is the quantification of eruption intensity through the study of elastic energy propagated
into the atmosphere and ground. To better understand the relation between elastic wave radiation and eruptive activity we
deployed seismic, acoustic, and video instrumentation at the active Tungurahua Volcano (Ecuador) in Nov.–Dec. of 2004. Our
data show that plume expansion scales very poorly with both seismic and acoustic trace energy and only the initial amplitude
of the acoustic signal is perhaps correlated with initial plume rise speeds. In general, the eventual size of Tungurahua eruption
plumes does not appear to be controlled by elevated material accelerations within the conduit, which are primary influences
on elastic energy radiation. This result has vital implications for volcano observatories, which are interested in using seismic
and acoustic trace amplitudes as proxies for eruption magnitudes.
Received 27
February
2005;
accepted 28
June
2005;
published 4
August
2005.
Index Terms: 8414 Volcanology: Eruption mechanisms and flow emplacement; 8419 Volcanology: Volcano monitoring (7280); 8428 Volcanology: Explosive volcanism; 8485 Volcanology: Remote sensing of volcanoes; 8494 Volcanology: Instruments and techniques.
Read Full Article (file size: 195774 bytes) Cited by
Citation: Johnson, J. B., M. C. Ruiz, J. M. Lees, and P. Ramon
(2005),
Poor scaling between elastic energy release and eruption intensity at Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador,
Geophys. Res. Lett.,
32,
L15304,
doi:10.1029/2005GL022847.
Copyright 2005 by the American Geophysical Union.
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