Abstract
Arenal volcano has shown almost continuous seismic activity since 1968. A swarm of A-type earthquakes was recorded before and during the opening Pelean explosive phase of July 1968. A-type events were recorded again 5 months before the explosive Merapi-Soufriere-type eruptive phase of June 1975 which produced hot avalanches. There is no clear relation between local tectonic seismicity and the strong Strombolian explosive phases of 1984 and 1987. B-type earthquakes were recorded mainly during the first decade of activity. Explosion quakes with or without an air shock wave phase were recorded particularly during 1968, 1980 and from 1984 to the present day. The foci of the explosions were at least 100 m below the summit crater. Of all the seismic signals recorded at Arenal, the most relevant type for forecasting eruptive activity is tremor, since it appears to be related to crater degassing, block lava avalanches and resonance and oscillation in the conduit system. Weeks before a major explosive or effusive phase occurs, the A-type earthquakes and the tremors increase in frequency and amplitude and then gradually decrease, after which volcanic earthquakes begin to increase.
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Barquero, R., Alvarado, G.E., Matumoto, T. (1992). Arenal Volcano (Costa Rica) Premonitory Seismicity. In: Gasparini, P., Scarpa, R., Aki, K. (eds) Volcanic Seismology. IAVCEI Proceedings in Volcanology, vol 3. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77008-1_7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-77008-1_7
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