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In order to clarify the time relation of the expansion of a gas pocket and failure of its overlying plug of lava during Vulcanian eruptions, infrasound records and video images of the Vulcanian eruption that occurred at Sakurajima volcano on January 2, 2007 were analyzed with respect to their origin times. Weak (≤3 Pa) and slowly increasing air pressure preceded the impulsive compression phase by 0.25-0.32 s, and a longer-period rarefaction phase of infrasound waves was recognized at all microphone stations. The velocity of the compression phase was assumed to be supersonic (ca. 400 m/s) up to 850 m above the crater bottom from other recent explosions. On the other hand, the propagation velocity of the preceding weak signal was regarded to be similar to the air sound velocity because the lack of impulsiveness is unlikely to be related to the main compression phase. Therefore, the estimated origin time of the main compression phase was delayed by 0.5-0.7 s from the preceding phase. The origin time of the preceding phase coincided with the onset of the isotropic expansion process of the pressurized gas pocket, which was obtained by the waveform inversion of the explosion earthquake. In contrast, the origin time of the main impulsive phase coincided with the time when the expansion rate reached its peak. This observation suggests that the volumetric increase of the gas pocket caused swelling of the surface of the crater bottom and its subsequent failure. When the expansion velocity exceeded a threshold level, the main impulsive compression phase radiated with a high velocity by the sudden releases of the pressurized gases. The volumetric change at the source was estimated to be 280-560 m 3 from the preceding phase of the infrasound. This volume change indicates that the vertical displacement of the swelling ground was on the order of 1.0 m, assuming the radius of the lava plug was ca. 10 m.

We present observations of ground deformation at Sakurajima in August 2015 and model the deformation using a combination of GNSS, tilt and strain data in order to interpret a rapid deformation event on August 15, 2015. The pattern of horizontal displacement during the period from August 14 to 16, 2015, shows a WNW-ESE extension, which suggests the opening of a dike. Using a genetic algorithm, we obtained the position, dip, strike length, width and opening of a dislocation source based on the combined data. A nearly vertical dike with a NNE-SSW strike was found at a depth of 1.0 km below sea level beneath the Showa crater. The length and width are 2.3 and 0.6 km, respectively, and a dike opening of 1.97 m yields a volume increase of 2.7 × 10 6 m 3 . 887 volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes beside the dike suggest that the rapid opening of the dike caused an accumulation of strain in the surrounding rocks, and the VT earthquakes were generated to release this strain. Half of the total amount of deformation was concentrated between 10:27 and 11:54 on August 15. It is estimated that the magma intrusion rate was 1 × 10 6 m 3 /h during this period. This is 200 times larger than the magma intrusion rate prior to one of the biggest eruptions at the summit crater of Minami-dake on July 24, 2012, and 2200 times larger than the average magma intrusion rate during the period from October 2011 to March 2012. The previous Mogi-type ground deformation is considered to be a process of magma accumulation in preexisting spherical reservoirs. Conversely, the August 2015 event was a dike intrusion and occurred in a different location to the preexisting reservoirs. The direction of the opening of the dike coincides with the T-axes and direction of faults creating a graben structure.

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We conducted precise leveling surveys in Kuchierabujima Volcano, southwest Japan seven times after

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