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Infrasonic Noise From Lava Eruptions at Nyiragongo Volcano, D.R. Congo

Description: 

During eruptions, volcanoes produce air-pressure waves inaudible for the human ear called infrasound, which are very helpful for detecting early signs of magma at the surface. Compared to violent ash-rich explosions, recording more discreet atmospheric disturbances from effusive eruptions remains a practical challenge. Wind and human activity are other powerful sources of unwanted infrasound noise masking volcanic ones. At Nyiragongo volcano (D.R. Congo), close to a one-million urban area, the drainage of the world’s largest lava lake concomitant with short-duration lava flows on its flank and the renewal of an effusive eruption within its crater a few months later were a series of major volcanic events in 2021, all monitored with infrasound sensors. First, we explore these records for characterizing the temporal and spatial evolution of the flank eruption on May 22, 2021. In a second step, we show evidence of the infrasonic rumbling of a nascent lava lake starting a few months later detected up to the volcano observatory facilities in Goma city center about 17 km from Nyiragongo’s crater. These results show remarkable local recordings of eruptive infrasound from rural and city-based stations and have significant implication for optimizing future monitoring efforts in a harsh field environment.

Session: Detecting, Locating, Characterizing and Monitoring Non-earthquake Seismoacoustic Sources

Type: Oral

Date: 4/19/2023

Presentation Time: 02:00 PM (local time)

Presenting Author: Adrien Oth

Student Presenter: No

Invited Presentation: 

Authors