The three-dimensional structure of the summit magma complex at Kilauea volcano, Hawaii, from travel time CDI tomography

Abstract

Methods of seismic tomography have been applied to Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii several times to determine the structure of the magma conduit system. The shallow summit chambers are the least defined part of the magma system. A dense seismic array ... was deployed over the summit in January, 1996 and February, 1997. P- and S- phase travel times of 271 earthquakes recorded at these stations were inverted with a new tomography algorithm developed by Clippard (1998) to highlight small, anomalous regions. A large (26.2 km³) low P-phase velocity anomaly (9% perturbation) was imaged beneath the summit caldera implying a body of approximately 9% partial melt. Several small anomalies of Vp/Vs = 2.7 beneath Kilauea caldera and the East Rift Zone are also interpreted as localized pockets of melt, gas and/or highly fractured material.