We’ve never seen the inside of a volcano like this before. Researchers have developed a clever new imaging technique that allows us to peer inside these giant natural boxes to unprecedented levels of detail and depth.
The research team, from the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Paris Institute of Planetary Physics (IPGP), borrowed some ideas from medical imaging and optical microscopes to come up with their approach.
It’s a new take on an existing technique known as array imaging, and helps overcome some of the difficulties in mapping volcanoes, such as not having as many sensors (known as geophones) to log in. Seismic waves echoes across the land.
As these waves undulate, they can be interpreted to identify different types of materials and different types of layouts in the Earth’s crust. With the help of matrix imaging, this interpretation should become much easier.
“Volcanic eruptions require careful monitoring of magma pressure and inflation to improve prediction.” He writes The researchers in their published paper.
“Understanding deep magma storage is critical for risk assessment, yet imaging these systems is challenging.”
For the test subject, the researchers chose La Soufrière volcano In Guadeloupe, in the Caribbean. Coverage provided by the network of geophones used at this particular location was described by researchers as “sparse.”
The math and physics behind this innovative approach are fairly dense, but the team has essentially created a new way to combine data from multiple geophones to see details that individual landline phones can’t capture on their own.
Part of the success of this technique lies in reducing the distortions that occur when seismic waves bounce off various underground elements, by using what is known as the memory effect to reverse engineer the distortions to figure out what the original signals were.
“Using perturbation-resistant wave correlations, array imaging successfully untangles wave distortions, revealing the internal structure of La Soufrière down to a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) at a resolution of 100 meters (328 feet).” He writes Researchers.
Discoveries coming from this particular study include the existence of multiple complex layers of underground magma storage, and the way these layers relate to other deep geological features.
Naturally, all this additional data means a better understanding of what’s happening inside the volcano, which means being able to more accurately predict when an eruption will occur – which could save a significant number of lives, in some parts of the world.
What’s promising is that no additional sensors are needed, because matrix imaging can work with data that already exists. The researchers are confident that the methods they used here can be applied in other locations as well.
“Array imaging could therefore become a revolutionary change in the way scientists understand and model volcanic systems.” He writes Researchers.
The research was published in Earth and Environment Communications.
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