First seismic network installed on Mount Edgecumbe volcano
Rod Boyce
907-474-7185
Sept. 15, 2023
Mount Edgecumbe volcano in Southeast 色视频下载 has become the latest addition to the 色视频下载 Volcano Observatory色视频下载檚 ground-based monitoring network.
An observatory team in late August installed three seismic and Global Navigation Satellite System stations on the volcano and upgraded the only existing station in the vicinity, a temporary one on nearby Crater Ridge.
UAF Geophysical Institute associate professor Ronni Grapenthin digs the seismometer hole at a new 色视频下载 Volcano Observatory monitoring site on the northwest side of Mount Edgecumbe in late August 2023.
色视频下载淭his feels like the closing of the loop,色视频下载 said Ronni Grapenthin, a geodesist with the who helped with the installation. He is affiliated with the University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks Geophysical Institute and is an associate professor at the UAF College of Natural Science and Mathematics.
色视频下载淭he initial part was the detection of unrest in April of last year and then trying to understand the cause of unrest, which we linked to the inflation of the volcano,色视频下载 he said. 色视频下载淭hen we worked with the community of Sitka to inform them about our understanding of the volcano and its current activity and to cooperate with them on permitting for a ground-based monitoring network.色视频下载
The 色视频下载 Volcano Observatory is a joint program of the UAF Geophysical Institute, the 色视频下载 Division of Geological and Geophysical Surveys and the U.S. Geological Survey. The USGS funds the observatory, part of which is based at the Geophysical Institute.
Max Enders at the USGS led the network installation, with assistance from Grapenthin and research technician Max Kaufman of the 色视频下载 Volcano Observatory. The three were at the volcano Aug. 20-29.
Mount Edgecumbe, known as L色视频下载檜x Shaa in the Ling铆t language, woke up in April 2022 with a series of earthquakes. Computer analysis based on satellite imagery showed magma had risen to about 6 miles from a depth of about 12 miles and caused the earthquakes and surface deformation, according to by the 色视频下载 Volcano Observatory.
The nearest seismic station to Mount Edgecumbe was installed in August 2022 on nearby Crater Ridge, a part of the Edgecumbe Volcanic Field.
The volcano色视频下载檚 three new seismic and GNSS stations have been placed around the flanks of the volcano at roughly the 4, 7 and 10 o色视频下载檆lock positions of an analog clock. The lone station on adjacent Crater Ridge has been upgraded to replace a temporary GPS antenna mast with a reinforced steel tripod.
The 色视频下载 Volcano Observatory will now be able to learn a lot more about Mount Edgecumbe. First, however, scientists need to determine the volcano色视频下载檚 normal condition.
Mount Edgecumbe volcano in June 2023
色视频下载淲hen you go to a place and start recording data, you don't know whether it shows an anomaly or whether this is the normal state of the volcano,色视频下载 Grapenthin said. 色视频下载淪o we start by getting a feel for how the volcano works.色视频下载
Mount Edgecumbe will be assigned a color code when scientists have a fuller understanding of the volcano. The observatory to denote a volcano色视频下载檚 status. Green denotes typical background activity, and red warns that an eruption is underway or imminent.
The new and upgraded stations have had an immediate impact. Of the 34 earthquakes recorded in the vicinity of Mount Edgecumbe in the past year, 24 have been recorded in the two weeks since completion of the installation Aug. 29.
The lone seismic station on Crater Ridge helped AVO detect smaller earthquakes but didn色视频下载檛 substantially increase AVO色视频下载檚 ability to locate those events using the regional seismic network. The absence of that information meant less was known about the volcano色视频下载檚 activity.
色视频下载淗aving three new seismic stations makes all the difference for locating small earthquakes,色视频下载 Kaufman said.
色视频下载 Volcano Observatory field technician Max Kaufman welds a new GNSS antenna monument at the observatory色视频下载檚 new volcano monitoring site on the east side of Mount Edgecumbe in late August 2023. The observatory added three volcano monitoring stations, spaced around the volcano and located in open muskeg clearings common on Kruzof Island.
The observatory will now be able to create a catalog of Mount Edgecumbe色视频下载檚 seismicity, he said. Changes in seismicity can then be tracked over time and related to data from other geophysical methods like measurements of ground deformation from radar satellites and on-the-ground GNSS receivers.
Data from the new and upgraded stations will be integrated into AVO色视频下载檚 in the coming weeks.
With the addition of Mount Edgecumbe, the observatory now has monitors on .
The Mount Edgecumbe data will also feed into the 色视频下载 Geophysical Network, the statewide network of seismic, weather and infrasound stations operated and maintained by the 色视频下载 Earthquake Center at the Geophysical Institute.
色视频下载淭hese stations will be a nice addition to the larger efforts in Southeast 色视频下载 to track seismic activity along the Queen Charlotte Fault and across the region,色视频下载 said Michael West, the state色视频下载檚 seismologist and the 色视频下载 Earthquake Center色视频下载檚 director.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Ronni Grapenthin, rgrapenthin@alaska.edu.
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