Rheology-dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of Okmok volcano, Alaska
The eruption cycle of a volcano is controlled by the subsurface migration and storage of magma. The specific characteristics of the magma migration and spatial distribution of material properties produce a specific deformation signature on the Earth’s surface. Inverse analyses of geodetic data are u...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1630931/full |
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| author | Jared M. Long-Fox Sui Tung Theodore Donovan Timothy Masterlark |
| author_facet | Jared M. Long-Fox Sui Tung Theodore Donovan Timothy Masterlark |
| author_sort | Jared M. Long-Fox |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The eruption cycle of a volcano is controlled by the subsurface migration and storage of magma. The specific characteristics of the magma migration and spatial distribution of material properties produce a specific deformation signature on the Earth’s surface. Inverse analyses of geodetic data are used to optimize characteristic geometric and mechanical parameters of the volcanic system and hence provide information on the subsurface magmatic system. This study uses interferometric synthetic aperture radar data from a 1997 co- and post-eruptive interval for Okmok volcano to estimate the location of the magma reservoir and constrain finite element-based viscosity models of a thermally-weakened viscoelastic rind surrounding the reservoir. For the first time, approximately 10 years of pre-and post-eruption interferometric synthetic aperture radar data are analyzed to recover a magma reservoir pressurization history using both purely elastic and coupled elastic-viscoelastic models. The findings show that low viscosities surrounding the magma reservoir relax stresses rapidly enough to allow prediction of the more realistic viscoelastic pressurization histories to be calculated as a scaled version of the relatively simple but computationally efficient elastic models which allows for quick analysis of volcano hazards while maintaining fidelity to the actual physical system. This offers insights into how the shallow rheologic structure of magmatic systems can influence the predictions of transient deformation and estimates of the time-dependent magma budget. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9a7f49c2c9204125b5ef32ac16f74a2f |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2296-6463 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Earth Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-9a7f49c2c9204125b5ef32ac16f74a2f2025-08-20T03:35:53ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632025-08-011310.3389/feart.2025.16309311630931Rheology-dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of Okmok volcano, AlaskaJared M. Long-Fox0Sui Tung1Theodore Donovan2Timothy Masterlark3Department of Physics, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, United StatesDepartment of Geosciences, Texas Technological University, Lubbock, TX, United StatesDepartment of Geology and Geological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD, United StatesDepartment of Geology and Geological Engineering, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, SD, United StatesThe eruption cycle of a volcano is controlled by the subsurface migration and storage of magma. The specific characteristics of the magma migration and spatial distribution of material properties produce a specific deformation signature on the Earth’s surface. Inverse analyses of geodetic data are used to optimize characteristic geometric and mechanical parameters of the volcanic system and hence provide information on the subsurface magmatic system. This study uses interferometric synthetic aperture radar data from a 1997 co- and post-eruptive interval for Okmok volcano to estimate the location of the magma reservoir and constrain finite element-based viscosity models of a thermally-weakened viscoelastic rind surrounding the reservoir. For the first time, approximately 10 years of pre-and post-eruption interferometric synthetic aperture radar data are analyzed to recover a magma reservoir pressurization history using both purely elastic and coupled elastic-viscoelastic models. The findings show that low viscosities surrounding the magma reservoir relax stresses rapidly enough to allow prediction of the more realistic viscoelastic pressurization histories to be calculated as a scaled version of the relatively simple but computationally efficient elastic models which allows for quick analysis of volcano hazards while maintaining fidelity to the actual physical system. This offers insights into how the shallow rheologic structure of magmatic systems can influence the predictions of transient deformation and estimates of the time-dependent magma budget.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1630931/fullvolcano deformationpressurizationviscoelasticfinite element modelstransient deformationInSAR |
| spellingShingle | Jared M. Long-Fox Sui Tung Theodore Donovan Timothy Masterlark Rheology-dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of Okmok volcano, Alaska Frontiers in Earth Science volcano deformation pressurization viscoelastic finite element models transient deformation InSAR |
| title | Rheology-dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of Okmok volcano, Alaska |
| title_full | Rheology-dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of Okmok volcano, Alaska |
| title_fullStr | Rheology-dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of Okmok volcano, Alaska |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rheology-dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of Okmok volcano, Alaska |
| title_short | Rheology-dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of Okmok volcano, Alaska |
| title_sort | rheology dependent magma reservoir pressurization history constrained by the deformation cycle of okmok volcano alaska |
| topic | volcano deformation pressurization viscoelastic finite element models transient deformation InSAR |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1630931/full |
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