Ground-coupled airwaves at Pavlof Volcano, Alaska, and their potential for eruption monitoring

Abstract

An abnormally high number of explosion quakes were noted during the monitoring effort for the 2007 eruption of Pavlof Volcano on the Alaska Peninsula. In this study, we manually cataloged the explosion quakes from their characteristic ground-coupled airwaves. This study investigates how the ground-coupled airwaves might be used in a monitoring or analysis effort by estimating energy release and gas mass release. Over 3 × 104 quakes were recorded. The energy release from the explosions is approximated to be 3 × 1011 J, and the total gas mass (assuming 100 % water) released was 450 t. The tracking of explosion quakes has the potential to estimate relative eruption intensity as a function of time and is thus a useful component of a seismic monitoring program.