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Microgravity Monitoring

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Monitoring and Mitigation of Volcano Hazards

Abstract

Microgravity monitoring involves the measurement of small changes with time in the value of gravity at a network of stations with respect to a fixed base. Microgravity is becoming increasingly recognised as a valuable tool for mapping out the subsurface mass redistributions that are associated with volcanic activity. It is essential that relative elevation data are obtained at the same time as gravity data for an unambiguous interpretation of results. By combining these data sets, far more information is available than using either method alone. In recent decades systematic microgravity studies over some 20 active volcanoes in Central America, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Papua New Guinea and the USA have provided valuable data on the subsurface mass redistribution associated with eruptions. I consider here the feasibility and suitability of microgravity surveys in a range of tectonic settings. Examples from a variety of volcanoes in varying states of activity reveal that while basaltic rift-type volcanoes undergo elastic ground deformation prior to eruption, they rarely exhibit large subsurface density changes. Large caldera structures in a state of unrest exhibit gravity and height variations that closely follow the relationship expected for an elastic medium. Deep mass increases and decreases have been observed at calderas, but they have not been the precursors to eruptive activity. On the other hand, data from several andesitic stratocones reveal gravity changes that are much larger than can be accounted for by the observed height changes associated with a change in activity. Thus, while combined gravity and height monitoring may be useful at most volcanoes, it has proved to be particularly fruitful at explosive, andesitic constructs.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK7 6AA, UK

    H. Rymer

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© 1996 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Rymer, H. (1996). Microgravity Monitoring. In: Monitoring and Mitigation of Volcano Hazards. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-80087-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-80087-0_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-80089-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-80087-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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