Return from dormancy: Rapid inflation and seismic unrest driven by transcrustal magma transfer at Mt. Edgecumbe (L’´ux Shaa) Volcano, Alaska

Geophysical Research Letters
By: , and 

Metrics

17
Crossref references
Web analytics dashboard Metrics definitions

Links

Abstract

In April 2022, a seismic swarm near Mt. Edgecumbe in southeast Alaska suggested renewed activity at this transform fault volcano, which was last active ≈800 years ago. Previously, thin rhyolitic tephras were deposited 5 and 4 ka. Satellite radar data from 2014 to 2022 resolves line-of-sight rapid inflation up to 7.1 cm/yr beginning in August 2018. Bayesian modeling suggests a transcrustal system of a deflating (−0.528 km3) dipping sill at 20 km depth recharging a magma chamber at 10 km (0.222 km3). A near-vertical conduit could capture the volume difference without noticeable surface deformation. Reanalyzed seismicity, recorded 25 km away, shows increases since July 2019. Magma ascent through ductile material and brittle strain release in a stressed overburden could explain the time delay. Cloud-native open data and workflows enabled discovery and analysis of this signal within days after going unnoticed for >3 years.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Return from dormancy: Rapid inflation and seismic unrest driven by transcrustal magma transfer at Mt. Edgecumbe (L’´ux Shaa) Volcano, Alaska
Series title Geophysical Research Letters
DOI 10.1029/2022GL099464
Volume 49
Issue 20
Publication Date October 21, 2022
Year Published 2022
Language English
Publisher American Geophysical Union
Contributing office(s) Volcano Science Center
Description e2022GL099464, 10 p.
Country United States
State Alaska
Other Geospatial Mt. Edgecumbe (L’´ux Shaa) Volcano
Additional publication details