Melt focusing along lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary below Axial volcano

Beneath oceanic spreading centres, the lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) acts as a permeability barrier that focuses the delivery of melt from deep within the mantle towards the spreading axis1. At intermediate-spreading to fast-spreading ridge crests, the multichannel seismic reflection technique has imaged a nearly flat, 1-2-km-wide axial magma lens (AML)2 that defines the uppermost section of the LAB3, but the nature of the LAB deeper into the crust has been more elusive, with some clues gained from tomographic images, providing only a diffuse view of a wider halo of lower-velocity material seated just beneath the AML4. Here we present 3D seismic reflection images of the LAB extending deep (5-6 km) into the crust beneath Axial volcano, located at the intersection of the Juan de Fuca Ridge and the Cobb-Eickelberg hotspot. The 3D shape of the LAB, which is coincident with a thermally controlled magma assimilation front, focuses hotspot-related and mid-ocean-spreading-centre-related magmatism towards the centre of the volcano, controlling both eruption and hydrothermal processes and the chemical composition of erupted lavas5. In this context, the LAB can be viewed as the upper surface of a 'magma domain', a volume within which melt bodies reside (replacing the concept of a single 'magma reservoir')6. Our discovery of a funnel-shaped, crustal LAB suggests that thermally controlled magma assimilation could be occurring along this surface at other volcanic systems, such as Iceland.

Asymmetric magma plumbing system beneath Axial Seamount based on full waveform inversion of seismic data

The architecture of magma plumbing systems plays a fundamental role in volcano eruption and evolution. However, the precise configuration of crustal magma reservoirs and conduits responsible for supplying eruptions are difficult to explore across most active volcanic systems. Consequently, our understanding of their correlation with eruption dynamics is limited. Axial Seamount is an active submarine volcano located along the Juan de Fuca Ridge, with known eruptions in 1998, 2011, and 2015. Here we present high-resolution images of P-wave velocity, attenuation, and estimates of temperature and partial melt beneath the summit of Axial Seamount, derived from multi-parameter full waveform inversion of a 2D multi-channel seismic line. Multiple magma reservoirs, including a newly discovered western magma reservoir, are identified in the upper crust, with the maximum melt fraction of ~15-32% in the upper main magma reservoir (MMR) and lower fractions of 10% to 26% in other satellite reservoirs. In addition, a feeding conduit below the MMR with a melt fraction of ~4-11% and a low-velocity throat beneath the eastern caldera wall connecting the MMR roof with eruptive fissures are imaged. These findings delineate an asymmetric shallow plumbing system beneath Axial Seamount, providing insights into the magma pathways that fed recent eruptions.

An overview of ambient sound using Ocean Observatories Initiative hydrophones

The Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) sensor network provides a unique opportunity to study ambient sound in the north-east Pacific Ocean. The OOI sensor network has five low frequency (Fs = 200 Hz) and six broadband (Fs = 64 kHz) hydrophones that have been recording ambient sound since 2015. In this paper, we analyze acoustic data from 2015 to 2020 to identify prominent features that are present in the OOI acoustic dataset. Notable features in the acoustic dataset that are highlighted in this paper include volcanic and seismic activity, rain and wind noise, marine mammal vocalizations, and anthropogenic sound, such as shipping noise. For all low frequency hydrophones and four of the six broadband hydrophones, we will present long-term spectrograms, median time-series trends for different spectral bands, and different statistical metrics about the acoustic environment. We find that 6-yr acoustic trends vary, depending on the location of the hydrophone and the spectral band that is observed. Over the course of six years, increases in spectral levels are seen in some locations and spectral bands, while decreases are seen in other locations and spectral bands. Last, we discuss future areas of research to which the OOI dataset lends itself.

Long-term noise interferometry analysis in the northeast Pacific Ocean

Long-term noise interferometry analysis is conducted over six years of data using two hydrophones on the Ocean Observatories Initiative Cabled Array. The two hydrophones are separated by 3.2 km and are bottom-mounted at 1500 m. We demonstrate the ability of ambient noise interferometry to reliably detect multi-path arrivals in the deep ocean from bottom-mounted hydrophones. An analysis of the multi-path arrival peak emergence is presented, as well as long-term trends of the signal-to-noise ratio of the arrival peaks. Last, we show that long-term ambient noise interferometry provides the opportunity for monitoring directional, coherent ambient sound such as the fin whale chorus.

Triggering of eruptions at Axial Seamount, Juan de Fuca Ridge

The submarine volcano Axial Seamount has exhibited an inflation predictable eruption cycle, which allowed for the successful forecast of its 2015 eruption. However, the exact triggering mechanism of its eruptions remains ambiguous. The inflation predictable eruption pattern suggests a magma reservoir pressure threshold at which eruptions occur, and as such, an overpressure eruption triggering mechanism. However, recent models of volcano unrest suggest that eruptions are triggered when conditions of critical stress are achieved in the host rock surrounding a magma reservoir. We test hypotheses of eruption triggering using 3-dimensional finite element models which track stress evolution and mechanical failure in the host rock surrounding the Axial magma reservoir. In addition, we provide an assessment of model sensitivity to various temperature and non-temperature-dependent rheologies and external tectonic stresses. In this way, we assess the contribution of these conditions to volcanic deformation, crustal stress evolution, and eruption forecasts. We conclude that model rheology significantly impacts the predicted timing of through-going failure and eruption. Models consistently predict eruption at a reservoir pressure threshold of 12–14 MPa regardless of assumed model rheology, lending support to the interpretation that eruptions at Axial Seamount are triggered by reservoir overpressurization.

The mechanism of tidal triggering of earthquakes at mid-ocean ridges

The strong tidal triggering of mid-ocean ridge earthquakes has remained unexplained because the earthquakes occur preferentially during low tide, when normal faulting earthquakes should be inhibited. Using Axial Volcano on the Juan de Fuca ridge as an example, we show that the axial magma chamber inflates/deflates in response to tidal stresses, producing Coulomb stresses on the faults that are opposite in sign to those produced by the tides. When the magma chamber's bulk modulus is sufficiently low, the phase of tidal triggering is inverted. We find that the stress dependence of seismicity rate conforms to triggering theory over the entire tidal stress range. There is no triggering stress threshold and stress shadowing is just a continuous function of stress decrease. We find the viscous friction parameter A to be an order of magnitude smaller than laboratory measurements. The high tidal sensitivity at Axial Volcano results from the shallow earthquake depths.

Tidal and hydrological periodicities of seismicity reveal new risk scenarios at Campi Flegrei caldera

The volcano-tectonic seismicity occurring at Campi Flegrei caldera during its present unrest phase, started in 2005, is distributed into time-clustered events emerging from a background composed of earthquakes with higher inter-arrival times. Here, we show that clustered seismicity is cyclically recurrent at time scales from semidiurnal to annual, matching tidal and hydrological periodicities. These results suggest that volcano-tectonic seismicity at Campi Flegrei caldera is driven by both variations in the deep magmatic feeding system and exogenous phenomena, as rainfall or global inflation/deflation cycles of the Earth’s crust, controlled by the lunisolar interaction. Consequently, the role of exogenous triggers in the evolution of the present unrest phase should be properly considered in the elaboration of volcanic risk scenarios, presently limited to the study of surface indicators of deep phenomena.

Sensitivity to lunar cycles prior to the 2007 eruption of Ruapehu volcano

A long-standing question in Earth Science is the extent to which seismic and volcanic activity can be regulated by tidal stresses, a repeatable and predictable external excitation induced by the Moon-Sun gravitational force. Fortnightly tides, a ~14-day amplitude modulation of the daily tidal stresses that is associated to lunar cycles, have been suggested to affect volcano dynamics. However, previous studies found contradictory results and remain mostly inconclusive. Here we study how fortnightly tides have affected Ruapehu volcano (New Zealand) from 2004 to 2016 by analysing the rolling correlation between lunar cycles and seismic amplitude recorded close to the crater. The long-term (~1-year) correlation is found to increase significantly (up to confidence level of 5-sigma) during the ~3 months preceding the 2007 phreatic eruption of Ruapehu, thus revealing that the volcano is sensitive to fortnightly tides when it is prone to explode. We show through a mechanistic model that the real-time monitoring of seismic sensitivity to lunar cycles may help to detect the clogging of active volcanic vents, and thus to better forecast phreatic volcanic eruptions.