A cautionary tale of topography and tilt from Kīlauea Caldera

Johnson, Jessica ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3628-6402, Poland, Michael P., Anderson, Kyle and Biggs, Juliet (2019) A cautionary tale of topography and tilt from Kīlauea Caldera. Geophysical Research Letters, 46 (8). pp. 4221-4229. ISSN 0094-8276

Preview

PDF (Accepted_Manuscript) - Accepted Version Download (4MB) | Preview

Abstract

We conduct finite element analysis to investigate the effect of sharp topography on surface ground deformation caused by pressure changes in a magma reservoir. Tilt data expresses the horizontal gradient of vertical deformation and therefore can emphasise small variations in deformation that go unnoticed using other methods. We find that the vertical displacement profile at a surface with a cliff can be thought of as the superposition of the deformation from shallow and deeper sources. This combination can create a small peak in vertical displacement that acts as a pseudo‐source, creating a reversal of the deformation gradient and therefore anomalous tilt magnitude and a rotation of up to 180° . We apply these models to Kīlauea Caldera and find that surface geometry creates a tilt rotation of ∼10°, partially explaining anomalous tilt that has been observed. Our analysis highlights the importance of considering topography when assessing tilt measurements at active volcanoes.

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Geosciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	29 Apr 2019 14:30
Last Modified:	22 Oct 2022 04:42
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/70741
DOI:	10.1029/2018GL081757

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item