Characterization and interpretation of volcanic activity at Karymsky Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia, using observations of infrasound, volcanic emissions, and thermal imagery

Abstract

[2] A multiparameter data set including measurements of infrasound, volcanic emissions, and thermal imagery is used to characterize and interpret diverse volcanic activity observed during field campaigns in August 2011 and July 2012 at Karymsky Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia. Four activity types are visually identified and characterized according to: SO 2 emission rate, ash mass, event duration, peak temperature, thermal radiation energy, infrasound onset and frequency, reduced infrasonic pressure, and acoustic energy. These activity types include: (1) ash explosions, (2) pulsatory degassing, (3) gas jetting, and (4) explosive eruption. Unique infrasound signals are associated with all four activity types suggesting that infrasound can be used to help remotely and continuously detect and characterize volcanic activity at Karymsky and other similar volcanoes. Our observations suggest that SO 2 is emitted continuously, though in varying abundance, while ash is emitted discontinuously and is only associated with certain types of activity. Our data set supports previous models that attribute variations in surface activity to changes in conduit permeability at Karymsky Volcano. Evidence for a decrease in conduit permeability as a trigger for ash explosions and explosive eruption activity types is supported by weakened but still detectable SO 2 emission rates prior to eruption, along with the highly impulsive infrasonic onset and large reduced infrasound pressure indicating high pressure at the vent. We speculate that changes in conduit permeability at Karymsky Volcano result from changes in magma supply from the shallow-crustal storage region though additional measurements are required to validate this hypothesis.

Introduction to an Open Community Infrasound Dataset from the Actively Erupting Sakurajima Volcano, Japan

“…Time duration of vent sealing varies significantly during the experiment, from minutes to hours. Similar precursory vent sealing was observed at Karymsky Volcano, Kamchatka for explosions of similar magnitude and composition (Lopez et al, 2013). Figure 5a shows a typical explosion waveform recorded at station ARI.…”

Tracking microphysical variations in emissions from Karymsky volcano using MISR multi-angle imagery, and implications for volcano geologic interpretation

“…This observation corroborates existing ground-based and alternative satellite-based observations of Karymsky activity (van Manen et al, 2012;Lopez et al, 2013). The majority of MISRobserved plumes occur during periods when pixel-integrated radiant temperature, as measured by MODIS (Fig.…”

“…The four dominant processes were: ash explosions, pulsatory degassing, gas jetting, and explosive eruptions (Lopez et al, 2013;. Depending upon local observing conditions, MISR has the potential to 10 distinguish the emissions from all these processes.…”

Karymsky volcano eruptive plume properties based on MISR multi-angle imagery and the volcanological implications

“…Karymsky has frequently been observed to produce small ash and gas explosions on timescales of minutes-hours (Johnson and Lees, 2000;Fischer et al, 2002). Eruptions have been defined as ranging from Strombolian to Vulcanian in nature (Lopez et al, 2013(Lopez et al, , 2015van Manen et al, 2012), with variations at- Recent field campaigns monitoring Karymsky with multiparameter instrumentation (IR and UV imaging and infrasound) identified a variety of activity styles (Lopez et al, 2013(Lopez et al, , 2015. Unfortunately, these ground-based campaigns did not coincide with MISR observations and therefore direct validation is not possible.…”