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Steady subsidence of a repeatedly erupting caldera through InSAR observations: Aso, Japan

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Abstract

The relation between unrest and eruption at calderas is still poorly understood. Aso caldera, Japan, shows minor episodic phreatomagmatic eruptions associated with steady subsidence. We analyse the deformation of Aso using SAR images from 1993 to 2011 and compare it with the eruptive activity. Although the dataset suffers from limitations (e.g. atmospheric effects, coherence loss, low signal-to-noise ratio), we observe a steady subsidence signal from 1996 to 1998, which suggests an overall contraction of a magmatic source below the caldera centre, from 4 to 5 km depth. We propose that the observed contraction may have been induced by the release of the magmatic fluids feeding the eruptions. If confirmed by further data, this hypothesis suggests that degassing processes play a crucial role in triggering minor eruptions within open conduit calderas, such as at Aso. Our study underlines the importance of defining any eruptive potential also from deflating magmatic systems with open conduit.

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Acknowledgments

This study was made in the framework of an ESA Category 1 proposal 7486 (V. Acocella responsible). The Supersite initiative (F. Amelung and S. Gross) is gratefully acknowledged for providing Envisat images. PALSAR level 1.0 data from the ALOS satellite are shared among PIXEL (PALSAR Interferometry Consortium to Study our Evolving Land surface) and provided by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) under a cooperative research contract with the Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo. The ownership of PALSAR data belongs to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and JAXA. G. Chiodini, E. Sansosti and M. Poland provided useful suggestions on an earlier version of the manuscript. We also would like to thank F. Costa and an anonymous reviewer who provided detailed reviews to improve the manuscript. Finally, thanks to the Associated Editor K.V. Cashman and to the Executive Editor J.D.L. White for additional comments that enhanced this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvenesteenweg 13, 3080, Tervuren, Belgium

    Adriano Nobile

  2. Dipartimento Scienze Università Roma Tre, Rome, Italy

    Valerio Acocella

  3. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

    Joel Ruch

  4. Earthquake Research Institute—The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Yosuke Aoki

  5. INGV—Osservatorio Vesuviano, Naples, Italy

    Sven Borgstrom & Valeria Siniscalchi

  6. Geological Survey Japan, AIST, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Nobuo Geshi

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  1. Adriano Nobile
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  2. Valerio Acocella
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  3. Joel Ruch
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  4. Yosuke Aoki
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Correspondence to Adriano Nobile.

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Editorial responsibility: K.V. Cashman

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

SM1 Mogi sources uncertainties. In the histograms, red dashed bars represent the 90% confidence range, reported in the table. Plain line is the best model. Depth is in km, ΔV is in 10-3 km3/yr, x and y are the distance (in km) between the source and the left/top angle of the area in Fig. 4. (PNG 240 kb)

ESM 2

SM2 Sill source uncertainties. In the histograms, red dashed bars represent the 90% of confidence of the dataset, reported in the table, plain line is the best model. L is the length and W is the width of the sill (km). Op is the opening (cm/yr), Str is the strike (in °), x and y are the distance (in km) between the center of the top side of the sill and the left/top angle of the area in Fig. 4. (PNG 453 kb)

ESM 3

SM3 Ellipsoid source uncertainties. In the histograms, red dashed bars represent the 90% of confidence of the dataset reported in the table, plain red line are the best model. Depth is in km; ΔP is the pressure change in MPa (we considered a crustal rocks shear modulus μ = 35GPa). SAV is vertical semi axis (rotation axis), SAO is the horizontal semi axis (in km), x and y are the distance (in km) between the source center and the left/top angle of the area in Fig. 4. (PNG 336 kb)

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Nobile, A., Acocella, V., Ruch, J. et al. Steady subsidence of a repeatedly erupting caldera through InSAR observations: Aso, Japan. Bull Volcanol 79, 32 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-017-1112-1

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