Nyamulagira’s magma plumbing system inferred from 15 years of InSAR

By: , and 
Edited by: D. M. PyleT.A. Mather, and J. Biggs

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Abstract

Nyamulagira, located in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo on the western branch of the East African rift, is Africa’s most active volcano, with an average of one eruption every 3 years since 1938. Owing to the socio-economical context of that region, the volcano lacks ground-based geodetic measurements but has been monitored by interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) since 1996. A combination of 3D Mixed Boundary Element Method and inverse modelling, taking into account topography and source interactions, is used to interpret InSAR ground displacements associated with eruptive activity in 1996, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2010. These eruptions can be fitted by models incorporating dyke intrusions, and some (namely the 2006 and 2010 eruptions) require a magma reservoir beneath the summit caldera. We investigate inter-eruptive deformation with a multi-temporal InSAR approach. We propose the following magma plumbing system at Nyamulagira by integrating numerical deformation models with other available data: a deep reservoir (c. 25 km depth) feeds a shallower reservoir (c. 4 km depth); proximal eruptions are fed from the shallow reservoir through dykes while distal eruptions can be fed directly from the deep reservoir. A dyke-like conduit is also present beneath the upper southeastern flank of Nyamulagira.

Publication type Book chapter
Publication Subtype Book Chapter
Title Nyamulagira’s magma plumbing system inferred from 15 years of InSAR
DOI 10.1144/SP380.9
Volume 380
Year Published 2013
Language English
Publisher Geological Society of London
Publisher location London, UK
Contributing office(s) Volcano Science Center
Description 27 p.
Larger Work Type Book
Larger Work Subtype Monograph
Larger Work Title Remote Sensing of Volcanoes and Volcanic Processes: Integrating Observation and Modelling
First page 39
Last page 65
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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