RESEARCH ARTICLE Spatio‑temporal evolution of the magma plumbing system at...

Stephens, K. J., and C. Wauthier (2022), RESEARCH ARTICLE Spatio‑temporal evolution of the magma plumbing system at Masaya Caldera, Nicaragua, Bulletin of Volcanology, 84, 18, doi:10.1007/s00445-022-01533-z.
Abstract: 

Volcanic unrest in calderas can be exhibited through a variety of different mechanisms, such as changes in seismicity and ground deformation, as well as variations in thermal and/or gas emissions. However, not all caldera unrest results in explosive caldera-forming volcanic activity. Alternative activity may include periods of quiescence, passive degassing, effusive activity (e.g., lava flows lava lakes and dome formation), and/or magma injection into the shallow magma system. In this study, we perform a long-term study (spanning 2011–2019) of ground deformation at Masaya using six Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) datasets. Masaya exhibited bi-modal eruptive behavior between 2011 and 2019, dominated by open-vent lava lake activity and punctuated by short-lived summit explosions. The Multidimensional Small BAseline Subset time-series analysis approach was used to take advantage of the temporally dense SAR datasets. Between 2012 and early 2015, we observed degassing-induced pressurization of the Masaya Central Reservoir (MCR) at an estimated volume change rate of ~ 0.28 × ­106 ­m3/year. In May 2015, magma was supplied into the MCR at a rate of ~ 5.6 × ­106 ­m3/year, leading to the appearance of a summit lava lake in December 2015. Over the next 6 months, rapid magma supply continued to drive lava lake activity and was followed by a cessation of magma supply into the MCR for another 11 months. From mid-2017 to end-2019, we observed depressurization (~ − 0.67 × ­106 ­m3/year) of the MCR due to a lack of magma supply and continued high rates of degassing in-conjunction with declining lava lake activity.

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Research Program: 
Earth Surface & Interior Program (ESI)