After more than twenty years without access to Erta Ale volcano, field campaigns are once again feasible. Between February 15 and February 20, 2002, a combined thermal and seismic data set was recorded at Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia, to study activity of the persistent lava lake. Analysis of continuous tremor and thermal fluctuations suggests that lava lake activity, as recorded by temperature variations, is related to seismic energy and spectral content. When we compare these parameters at timescales of minutes to hours, we find that correlations range from good to poor. However, these two parameters do not significantly correlate on timescales of a full day. Both thermal and seismic data indicate that the lava lake exhibits cyclical behavior between 20 to 80 minute periods characterized by low (~0.05 ms-1) and high (~0.2 ms-1) rates of convection, respectively. We use our measurements to constrain two models to explain these convection cycles. The first model relates variable convection rates to pulses in the rate at which magma is supplied to the lake. This model requires supply rates to cycle between high convection rate phases fed by a magma volume flux of 0.2 m3s-1 and low convection rate phases fed by a magma volume flux of 0.03 m3s-1. The second model assumes that supply to the lake is steady and that cyclic convection is set up by the generation of convective instabilities within the lake. In this case, cooling of the surface layer generates a slow moving, viscous convection cell at the lake surface overlying a faster moving convection cell of lower viscosity. Recharge of the lower cell increases the buoyancy of the lower layer, and eventually triggers an overturn event. At this point the surface of the low viscosity cell extends to the lake surface and the high viscosity cell sinks to be drained from the lake. We find that the second model, whereby cyclic convection is generated by processes acting within the lake, is more plausible.
Erta Ale lava lake: Identification and Modelling of Variable Convective Regimes
CARNIEL, Roberto;
2002-01-01
Abstract
After more than twenty years without access to Erta Ale volcano, field campaigns are once again feasible. Between February 15 and February 20, 2002, a combined thermal and seismic data set was recorded at Erta Ale volcano, Ethiopia, to study activity of the persistent lava lake. Analysis of continuous tremor and thermal fluctuations suggests that lava lake activity, as recorded by temperature variations, is related to seismic energy and spectral content. When we compare these parameters at timescales of minutes to hours, we find that correlations range from good to poor. However, these two parameters do not significantly correlate on timescales of a full day. Both thermal and seismic data indicate that the lava lake exhibits cyclical behavior between 20 to 80 minute periods characterized by low (~0.05 ms-1) and high (~0.2 ms-1) rates of convection, respectively. We use our measurements to constrain two models to explain these convection cycles. The first model relates variable convection rates to pulses in the rate at which magma is supplied to the lake. This model requires supply rates to cycle between high convection rate phases fed by a magma volume flux of 0.2 m3s-1 and low convection rate phases fed by a magma volume flux of 0.03 m3s-1. The second model assumes that supply to the lake is steady and that cyclic convection is set up by the generation of convective instabilities within the lake. In this case, cooling of the surface layer generates a slow moving, viscous convection cell at the lake surface overlying a faster moving convection cell of lower viscosity. Recharge of the lower cell increases the buoyancy of the lower layer, and eventually triggers an overturn event. At this point the surface of the low viscosity cell extends to the lake surface and the high viscosity cell sinks to be drained from the lake. We find that the second model, whereby cyclic convection is generated by processes acting within the lake, is more plausible.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
