skip to main content


Title: Spatiotemporal Variations of Focal Mechanism and In Situ V p / V s Ratio During the 2018 Kīlauea Eruption
Abstract

We examine the spatiotemporal variations in seismic parameters corresponding to the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. We find that the summit area had mainly strike‐slip focal solutions prior to the eruption, whereas normal‐faulting was the predominant feature during the eruption, partially due to the collapse events. In contrast, the majority of the earthquakes in the central south flank had normal‐faulting solutions before December 2017, in agreement with the normal‐faulting of the Hilina Fault System, while there are more reverse solutions during the eruption. We also observe temporal variations in the estimated in situratios corresponding to the eruption, with increases in the summit and decreases in the East Rift Zone. The sustained lowratios below 4 km depth under the summit caldera may suggest persistent ascent of volatiles from the mantle. The lowvalues in the East Rift Zone are probably associated with increased degassing.

 
more » « less
Award ID(s):
1928158
NSF-PAR ID:
10447459
Author(s) / Creator(s):
 ;  
Publisher / Repository:
DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Geophysical Research Letters
Volume:
48
Issue:
18
ISSN:
0094-8276
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
More Like this
  1. Abstract

    Global ocean mean salinityis a key indicator of the Earth's hydrological cycle and the exchanges of freshwater between land and ocean, but its determination remains a challenge. Aside from traditional methods based on gridded salinity fields derived from in situ measurements, we explore estimates ofbased on liquid freshwater changes derived from space gravimetry data corrected for sea ice effects. For the 2005–2019 period analyzed, the differentseries show little consistency in seasonal, interannual, and long‐term variability. In situ estimates show sensitivity to choice of product and unrealistic variations. A suspiciously large rise insince ∼2015 is enough to measurably affect halosteric sea level estimates and can explain recent discrepancies in the global mean sea level budget. Gravimetry‐basedestimates are more realistic, inherently consistent with estimated freshwater contributions to global mean sea level, and provide a way to calibrate the in situ estimates.

     
    more » « less
  2. Abstract

    Serendipitous measurements of deep internal wave signatures are evident in oscillatory variations around the background descent rates reported by one model of Deep Argo float. For the 10,045 profiles analyzed here, the average root‐mean‐square of vertical velocity variances,, from 1,000 m to the seafloor, is 0.0045 m s−1, with a 5%–95% range of 0.0028–0.0067 m s−1. Dominant vertical wavelengths,λz, estimated from the integrals of lagged autocorrelation sequences have an average value of 757 m, with a 5%–95% range of 493–1,108 m. Bothandλzexhibit regional variations among and within some deep ocean basins, with generally largerand shorterλzin regions of rougher bathymetry or stronger deep currents. These correlations are both expected, since largerand shorterλzshould be found near internal wave generation regions.

     
    more » « less
  3. Abstract

    Tide gauges provide a rich, long‐term, record of the amplitude and spatiotemporal structure of interannual to multidecadal coastal sea‐level variability, including that related to North American east coast sea level “hotspots.” Here, using wavelet analyses, we find evidence for multidecadal epochs of enhanced decadal (10–15 year period) sea‐level variability at almost all long (70 years) east coast tide gauge records. Within this frequency band, large‐scale spatial covariance is time‐dependent; notably, coastal sectors north and south of Cape Hatteras exhibit multidecadal epochs of coherence (1960–1990) and incoherence (1990‐present). Results suggest that previous interpretations of along coast covariance, and its underlying physical drivers, are clouded by time‐dependence and frequency‐dependence. Although further work is required to clarify the mechanisms driving sea‐level variability in this frequency band, we highlight potential associations with the North Atlantic sea surface temperature tripole and Atlantic Multidecadal Variability.

     
    more » « less
  4. Abstract

    Accurate estimates of aerosol refractive index (RI) are critical for modeling aerosol‐radiation interaction, yet this information is limited for ambient organic aerosols, leading to large uncertainties in estimating aerosol radiative effects. We present a semi‐empirical model that predicts the real RInof organic aerosol material from its widely measured oxygen‐to‐carbon (O:C) and hydrogen‐to‐carbon (H:C) elemental ratios. The model was based on the theoretical framework of Lorenz‐Lorentz equation and trained withn‐values at 589 nm () of 160 pure compounds. The predictions can be expanded to predictn‐values in a wide spectrum between 300 and 1,200 nm. The model was validated with newly measured and literature datasets ofn‐values for laboratory secondary organic aerosol (SOA) materials. Uncertainties ofpredictions for all SOA samples are within5%. The model suggests that‐values of organic aerosols may vary within a relatively small range for typical O:C and H:C values observed in the atmosphere.

     
    more » « less
  5. Abstract

    New geochronologic and paleomagnetic data from the North American Midcontinent Rift (MCR) reveal the synchronous emplacement of the Beaver River diabase, the anorthosite xenoliths within it, and the Greenstone Flow—one of the largest lava flows on Earth. A U‐Pb zircon date of 1091.83  0.21 Ma (2) from one of the anorthosite xenoliths is consistent with the anorthosite cumulate forming as part of the MCR and provides a maximum age constraint for the Beaver River diabase. Paired with the minimum age constraint of a cross‐cutting Silver Bay intrusion (1091.61  0.14 Ma; 2), these data tightly bracket the age of the Beaver River diabase to be 1091.7  0.2 Ma (95% CI), coeval with the eruption of the Greenstone Flow (1091.59  0.27 Ma; 2)—which is further supported by indistinguishable tilt‐corrected paleomagnetic pole positions. Geochronological, paleomagnetic, mineralogical and geochemical data are consistent with a hypothesis that the Beaver River diabase was the feeder system for the Greenstone Flow. The large areal extent of the intrusives and large estimated volume of the volcanics suggest that they represent a rapid and voluminous ca. 1,092 Ma magmatic pulse near the end of the main stage of MCR magmatism.

     
    more » « less