Soufrière Hills

Observations of Deformation

Volcano number:360050
Region:
Country:United Kingdom
Geodetic measurements?Yes
Deformation observation?Yes
Measurement method(s):InSAR, GPS - continuous, GPS - campaign, Strainmeter, Tiltmeter, EDM
Duration of observation:1995-2014
Inferred cause(s) of deformation:Magmatic, Surface deposits
Characteristics of deformation:

 
Deformation on multiple timescales. Modelling of continuous and campaign GPS gives two magmatic sources at ~ 6 km and ~ 10 km depth (Matiolli et al. 1998, Matiolli et al. 2010). The 6 km source is best modelled as a point source coupled to a NW trending vertical dyke. The 10 km deep source is better modelled as a prolate ellipsoid with volume ~ 24-32 km^3. Both sources inflate during periods of repose, and deflate during periods of lava dome growth on 2-3 year timescales. The NW trending dyke causes inflation and deflation on 5-7 week timescales. Summit tiltmeter stations recorded rapid (hourly-daily) cycles inferred to be associated with shallow (< 1 km) conduit processes (e.g. Voight et al. 1998). InSAR observations also show subsidence of pyroclastic flow deposits at a rate of 150-200 mm/year (Wadge et al. 2006).
A summary of geodetic observations at Soufrière Hills is provided by Odbert et al. (2014).

Reference(s):Mattioli G. S., Dixon T. H., Farina F. F., Howell E. S., Jansma P. E., Smith A. L. (1998) GPS measurement of surface deformation around Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat, from October 1995 to July 1996. Geophysical Research Letters 25:3417–3420.
Mattioli G. S., Herd R. A., Strutt M. H., Ryan G., Widiwijayanti C., Voight B. (2010) Long term surface deformation of Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat from GPS geodesy: inferences from simple elastic inverse models. Geophysical Research Letters 37:L00E13, http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2009GL042268.
Voight B., Hoblitt R., Clarke A., Lockhart A., Miller A., Lynch L., McMahon J. (1998) Remarkable cyclic ground deformation monitored in real-time on Montserrat, and its use in eruption forecasting. Geophysical Research Letters 25:3405–3408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.283.5405.1138
Wadge G., Mattioli G. S., Herd R. A. (2006) Ground deformation at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat during 1998–2000 measured by radar interferometry and GPS. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research 152:157–173.
Odbert H. M., Ryan G. A., Mattioli G. S., Hautmann S., Gottsmann J., Fournier N., Herd R. A. (2014) in The Eruption of Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat from 2000 to 2010, Volcano geodesy at the Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat: a review, Geological Society, London, Memoirs, eds Wadge G., Robertson R. E. A., Voight B. http://dx.doi.org/10.1144/M39.11, 39, pp 195–217.
Location:16.72, -62.18
REST API endpoint (JSON):https://comet.nerc.ac.uk/wp-json/volcanodb/v1/volcano/183

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