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Volcanic drumbeat seismicity caused by stick-slip motion and magmatic frictional melting

Nature Geoscience volume 7, pages 438–442 (2014)Cite this article

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Abstract

During volcanic eruptions, domes of solidifying magma can form at the volcano summit. As magma ascends it often forms a plug bounded by discrete fault zones, a process accompanied by drumbeat seismicity. The repetitive nature of this seismicity has been attributed to stick-slip motion1 at fixed loci between the rising plug of magma and the conduit wall2,3. However, the mechanisms for such periodic motion remain controversial4,5,6,7. Here we simulate stick-slip motion in the laboratory using high-velocity rotary-shear experiments on magma-dome samples collected from Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, and Mount St Helens Volcano, USA. We frictionally slide the solid magma samples to generate slip analogous to movement between a magma plug and the conduit wall. We find that frictional melting is a common consequence of such slip. The melt acts as a viscous brake, so that the slip velocity wanes as melt forms. The melt then solidifies, followed by pressure build up, which allows fracture and slip to resume. Frictional melt therefore provides a feedback mechanism during the stick-slip process that can accentuate the cyclicity of such motion. We find that the viscosity of the frictional melt can help define the recurrence interval of stick-slip events. We conclude that magnitude, frequency and duration of drumbeat seismicity depend in part on the composition of the magma.

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Figure 1: Drumbeat seismicity at Soufrière Hills (SHV) and Mount St Helens (MSH) volcanoes.
Figure 2: Melting efficiency according to axial stress and slip rate.
Figure 3: Slip-zone properties of magma.
Figure 4: Variable rate HVR experiments and viscous braking.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the Starting Grants SLiM (306488) and USEMS (205175) as well as the Advanced Grant EVOKES (247076) of the European Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 3GP, UK

    J. E. Kendrick, Y. Lavallée, A. J. Hornby & S. De Angelis

  2. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilian University, Theresienstr. 41/III, 80333 Munich, Germany

    J. E. Kendrick & D. B. Dingwell

  3. Kochi Institute for Core Sample Research, JAMSTEC, Kochi 783-8502, Japan

    T. Hirose

  4. Dipartimento di Geoscienze, Università degli Studi di Padova, Via Gradenigo 6, 35131 Padova, Italy

    G. Di Toro

  5. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Via di Vigna Murata 605, 00143 Roma, Italy

    G. Di Toro

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Contributions

J.E.K. conceptualized, performed and analysed the experiments. Y.L., T.H. and A.J.H. performed the experiments and helped with the mechanical and thermal data analysis. G.D.T. analysed the mechanical data. S.D.A. produced the seismic analysis to constrain the experimental conditions. D.B.D. conceptualized and analysed the experiments as well as supervising the rheological modelling. All co-authors contributed to the manuscript.

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Correspondence to J. E. Kendrick.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

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Kendrick, J., Lavallée, Y., Hirose, T. et al. Volcanic drumbeat seismicity caused by stick-slip motion and magmatic frictional melting. Nature Geosci 7, 438–442 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2146

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