Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Deep and shallow long-period volcanic seismicity linked by fluid-pressure transfer

Nature Geoscience volume 10, pages 442–445 (2017)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Volcanic long-period earthquakes are attributed to pressure fluctuations that result from unsteady mass transport in the plumbing system of volcanoes. Whereas most of the long-period seismicity is located close to the surface, the volcanic deep long-period earthquakes that occur in the lower crust and uppermost mantle reflect the activity in the deep parts of magmatic systems. Here, we present observations of long-period earthquakes that occurred in 2011–2012 within the Klyuchevskoy volcano group in Kamchatka, Russia. We show two distinct groups of long-period sources: events that occurred just below the active volcanoes, and deep long-period events at depths of ∼30 km in the vicinity of a deep magmatic reservoir. We report systematic increases of the long-period seismicity levels prior to volcanic eruptions with the initial activation of the deep long-period sources that reflects pressurization of the deep reservoir and consequent transfer of the activity towards the surface. The relatively fast migration of the long-period activity suggests that a hydraulic connection is maintained between deep and shallow magmatic reservoirs. The reported observations provide evidence for the pre-eruptive reload of the shallow magmatic reservoirs from depth, and suggest that the deep long-period earthquakes could be used as a reliable early precursor of eruptions.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Get just this article for as long as you need it

$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Map of the Klyuchevskoy volcano group.
Figure 2: Detection of repeating long-period events.
Figure 3: Activity of the repeating long-period events.

References

  1. Fehler, M. Observations of volcanic tremor at Mount St. Helens volcano. J. Geophys. Res. 88, 3476–3484 (1983).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Chouet, B. A. Resonance of a fluid-driven crack: radiation properties and implications for the source of long-period events and harmonic tremor. J. Geophys. Res. 93, 4375–4400 (1988).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Chouet, B. A. Long-period volcano seismicity: its source and use in eruption forecasting. Nature 380, 309–316 (1996).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Chouet, B. A. & Matoza, R. S. A multi-decadal view of seismic methods for detecting precursors of magma movement and eruption. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 252, 108–175 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Neuberg, J. W. et al. The trigger mechanism of low-frequency earthquakes on Montserrat. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 153, 37–50 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Bean, C. J. et al. Long-period seismicity in the shallow volcanic edifice formed from slow-rupture earthquakes. Nat. Geosci. 7, 71–75 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. White, R. A. in Fire and Mud: Eruptions and Lahars of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines (eds Newhall, C. G. & Punongbayan, R. S.) 307–326 (Univ. Washington Press, 1996).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Nichols, M. L., Malone, S. D., Moran, S. C., Thelen, W. A. & Vidale, J. E. Deep long-period earthquakes beneath Washington and Oregon volcanoes. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 200, 116–128 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Aso, N., Ohta, K. & Ide, S. Tectonic, volcanic, and semi-volcanic deep low-frequency earthquakes in western Japan. Tectonophysics 600, 27–40 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Aso, N. & Tsai, V. C. Cooling magma model for deep volcanic long-period earthquakes. J. Geophys. Res. 119, 8442–8456 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Obara, K. Nonvolcanic deep tremor associated with subduction in southwest Japan. Science 296, 1679–1681 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Nadeau, R. M. & Dolenc, D. Nonvolcanic tremors deep beneath the San Andreas Fault. Science 307, 389 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Shelly, D. R., Beroza, G. C., Ide, S. & Nakamula, S. Low-frequency earthquakes in Shikoku, Japan, and their relationship to episodic tremor and slip. Nature 442, 188–191 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Kao, H. et al. A wide depth distribution of seismic tremors along the northern Cascadia margin. Nature 436, 841–844 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Frank, W. B. et al. Along-fault pore-pressure evolution during a slow-slip event in Guerrero, Mexico. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 413, 135–143 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Manga, M. & Brodsky, E. Seismic triggering of eruptions in the far field: volcanoes and geysers. Annu. Rev. Earth Planet. Sci. 34, 263–291 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Fedotov, S. A., Jarinov, N. A. & Gontovaya, L. I. The magmatic system of the Klyuchevskaya group of volcanoes inferred from data on its eruptions, earthquakes, deformation, and deep structure. J. Volcanol. Seismol. 4, 1–33 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Senyukov, S. L. Forecasting of the Eruptions of Volcanoes Klyuchevskoy and Bezymianny at Kamchatka [in Russian] (Lambert Academic, 2013).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Senyukov, S. L., Droznina, S. Ya., Nuzhdina, I. N., Garbuzova, V. T. & Kozhevnikova, T. Y. Studies in the activity of Klyuchevskoi volcano by remote sensing techniques between January 1, 2001, and July 31, 2005. J. Volcanol. Seismol. 3, 50–59 (2009).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Thelen, W., West, M. & Senyukov, S. Seismic characterization of the fall 2007 eruptive sequence at Bezymianny volcano, Russia. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 194, 201–213 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Senyukov, S. L. et al. Seismic monitoring of the Plosky Tolbachik eruption in 2012–2013 (Kamchatka Peninsula Russia). J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 307, 47–59 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Droznin, D. V. et al. Detecting and locating volcanic tremors on the Klyuchevskoy group of volcanoes (Kamchatka) based on correlations of continuous seismic records. Geophys. J. Int. 203, 1001–1010 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Kugaenko, Y., Titkov, N. & Saltykov, V. Constraints on unrest in the Tolbachik volcanic zone in Kamchatka prior to the 2012–13 flank fissure eruption of Plosky Tolbachik volcano, from local seismicity and GPS data. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 307, 38–46 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Dorendorf, F., Wiechert, U. & Wörner, G. Hydrated sub-arc mantle: a source for the Kluchevskoy volcano, Kamchatka/Russia. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 175, 69–86 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Yogodzinski, G. M. et al. Geochemical evidence for the melting of subducting oceanic lithosphere at plate edges. Nature 409, 500–504 (2001).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Levin, V., Shapiro, N. M., Park, J. & Ritzwoller, M. H. Seismic evidence for catastrophic slab loss beneath Kamchatka. Nature 418, 763–767 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Gorelchik, V. I., Garbuzova, V. T. & Storcheus, A. V. Deep-seated volcanic processes beneath Klyuchevskoi volcano as inferred from seismological data. J. Volcanol. Seismol. 6, 21–34 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Levin, V., Droznina, S., Gavrilenko, M., Carr, M. & Senyukov, S. Seismically active sub-crustal magma source of the Klyuchevskoy volcano in Kamchatka, Russia. Geology 42, 983–986 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Koulakov, I. et al. Feeding volcanoes of the Kluchevskoy group from the results of local earthquake tomography. Geophys. Res. Lett. 38, L09305 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Ivanov, A. I. et al. Magma source beneath the Bezymianny volcano and its interconnection with Klyuchevskoy inferred from local earthquake seismic tomography. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 323, 62–71 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Barenblatt, G. I., Zheltov, I. P. & Kochina, I. N. Basic concepts in the theory of seepage of homogeneous liquids in fissured rocks. J. Appl. Math. Mech. 24, 1286–1303 (1960).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  32. Yang, D., Li, Q. & Zhang, L. Propagation of pore pressure diffusion waves in saturated porous media. J. Appl. Phys. 117, 134902 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Carroll, M. R. & Holloway, J. R. (eds) Volatiles in Magma Vol. 30 (Reviews in Mineralogy, Minerological Society of America, 1994).

  34. Wallace, P. & Anderson, T. A. Jr in Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (ed. Sigurdsson, H.) 149–170 (Academic, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  35. Spera, F. J. in Encyclopedia of Volcanoes (ed. Sigurdsson, H.) 171–190 (Academic, 2000).

    Google Scholar 

  36. Paterson, M. S. The equivalent channel model for permeability and resistivity in fluid-saturated rock—a re-appraisal. Mech. Mater. 2, 345–352 (1983).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Costa, A. Permeability-porosity relationship: a reexamination of the Kozeny–Carman equation based on a fractal pore-space geometry assumption. Geophys. Res. Lett. 33, L02318 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  38. Mériaux, C. & Jaupart, C. Simple fluid dynamic models of volcanic rift zones. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 136, 223–240 (1995).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  39. Pinel, V., Jaupart, C. & Albino, F. On the relationship between cycles of eruptive activity and growth of a volcanic edifice. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res. 194, 150–164 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  40. Frank, W. B. et al. Using systematically characterized low-frequency earthquakes as a fault probe in Guerrero, Mexico. J. Geophys. Res. 119, 7686–7700 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  41. Gibbons, S. J. & Ringdal, F. The detection of low magnitude seismic events using array-based waveform correlation. Geophys. J. Int. 165, 149–166 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  42. Fedotov, S. A. Energy Classification of the Kuril-Kamchatka Earthquakes and the Problem of Magnitudes [in Russian] (Nauka, 1972).

    Google Scholar 

  43. Gusev, A. A. & Melnikova, V. N. Correlations between world and Kamchatka magnitudes. J. Volcanol. Seismol. 6, 55–63 (1990).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank members of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Survey of the Russian Academy of Sciences who contributed to the operation of the seismic network and to collecting and archiving the data, and C. Jaupart, E. Kaminski, W. Frank and M. Campillo for helpful discussions. This study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant 14-47-00002), by the French projects ‘Labex UnivEarth’ and Universiteé Sorbonne Paris Cité project ‘VolcanoDynamics’ and by the Russian Academy of Science (research contract AAAA-A16-116070550058-4). Computations were performed using the infrastructure of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and of the Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Survey, as well of the IPGP High-Performance Computing infrastructure S-CAPADE (supported by the Île-de-France region via the SEASAME programme, by France-Grille, and by the CNRS MASTODONS programme).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Sorbonne Paris Cité, CNRS (UMR7154), 1 rue Jussieu, 75238 Paris, cedex 5, France

    N. M. Shapiro

  2. Institute of Volcanology and Seismology FEB RAS, 9 Piip Boulevard, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatsky Region 683006, Russia

    N. M. Shapiro, A. A. Gusev & E. I. Gordeev

  3. Kamchatka Branch of the Geophysical Survey, Russian Academy of Sciences, 9 Piip Boulevard, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Kamchatsky Region 683006, Russia

    D. V. Droznin, S. Ya. Droznina, S. L. Senyukov, A. A. Gusev & E. I. Gordeev

Authors
  1. N. M. Shapiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. D. V. Droznin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. S. Ya. Droznina
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. S. L. Senyukov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. A. A. Gusev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. E. I. Gordeev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

N.M.S. and D.V.D. analysed the continuous seismograms and the repeater catalogues. S.Y.D. and S.L.S. carried out the template source location. All of the authors contributed to interpretation of the data, discussions of the results and preparation of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. M. Shapiro.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 917 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Shapiro, N., Droznin, D., Droznina, S. et al. Deep and shallow long-period volcanic seismicity linked by fluid-pressure transfer. Nature Geosci 10, 442–445 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2952

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2952

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing