31. Dynamics of Magma Transport, Storage, and Eruption, and Volcano-Tectonic interactions at Kílauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
A unique opportunity exists to advance the scientific understanding of magma ascent, storage, and eruption. Unprecedented in the 96-year history of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO, Kílauea Volcano, Hawai‘i, is sustaining eruptions at both its summit caldera and east rift zone (ERZ) (Poland and others, 2008; Wilson and others, 2008). This is the first time in more than 200 years of written history at Kílauea, and one of very few cases in the world, that persistent vents have existed at multiple locations on the same volcano.
In addition to its continuous eruptive activity, Kílauea is distinguished from many other volcanoes by excellent accessibility, uninterrupted 96-year record of observation, and comprehensive monitoring networks (for example, tens of tiltmeters, GPS stations, seismometers, etc. in continuous operation). This wealth of data suggests that the magma supply to Kílauea more than doubled starting in late 2003, the profound consequences of which began to manifest themselves in mid-2007. Following a series of earthquakes on faults that bound Kílauea’s summit caldera, a dike intrusion and small eruption occurred between the long-lived ERZ eruptive vents and the summit in June 2007. The resulting change in the magma plumbing system led to the formation of a new long-term eruptive vent on the ERZ in July 2007, and the summit began to deflate as more magma moved from the summit to the ERZ vents than was being supplied from depth. An aseismic slip event on the south flank of the volcano may have been triggered by the June intrusion and eruption, and seismicity on the south flank of the volcano increased significantly in the late summer and early fall of 2007. In late 2007 and early 2008, seismic tremor at the summit began to increase, and sulfur dioxide emissions reached the highest levels ever recorded since measurements began in 1979. On March 19, 2008, an early morning explosion of gas, ash, and rock debris heralded the formation of a new eruptive vent within Kilauea’s summit caldera. Since March, the new vent has been erupting magmatic gas and small amounts of ash and basaltic spatter, and it has produced several smaller explosions.
This recent sequence of events at Kílauea is clearly connected, but traditional models of shallow dike opening, for example, do not predict triggered fault slip or increases in deep seismicity. Similarly, the initiation of a summit eruption during a period of deflation (which implies volume loss from the summit magma reservoir) was not considered a likely outcome of the observed precursory activity. Understanding the coupling among these processes requires a modeling approach that is currently not available at the USGS and represents an opportunity for real innovation in the development of models that draw upon and seek to explain a variety of different types of observations.
We seek a postdoctoral fellow to investigate the magma plumbing system and the relation between magmatic and tectonic activity at Kílauea as reflected by recent events. At the core of this work will be the development of quantitative models that account for realistic structures, distributions of material properties, and loading configurations associated with magma migration and storage, both guided and constrained by the wide variety of geophysical and geological data collected by HVO. Additional constraints are offered by geological and geochemical sampling and analysis. The ultimate goal of the project is the development and implementation of conceptually and physically realistic models of Kílauea's shallow magmatic system that build on existing knowledge of the volcano and that quantitatively predict the spatial and temporal patterns of recently observed activity. The modeling is intended to be a capability that can be: (1) used by observatory staff, and eventually other USGS scientists and collaborators, as a predictive tool to help forecast the outcome of specific processes at Kílauea as well as other volcanoes, (2) iteratively updated and improved as new constraining data become available, and (3) flexible enough to be applied to other Earth science problems. Candidates should be familiar with geophysical measurement techniques, for example, GPS, InSAR, gravity, or seismic imaging. The successful candidate will have an expertise in numerical modeling and should make use of emerging technologies, such as InSAR permanent scatterers, array seismology, or high-rate GPS.
References
Proposed Duty Station: Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, HIPoland, M., Miklius, A., Orr, T., Sutton, J., Thornber, C., and Wilson, D., 2008, New episodes of volcanism at Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii: Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 89, p. 37–38.
Wilson, D., Elias, T., Orr, T., Patrick, M., Sutton, J., and Swanson, D., 2008, Small explosion from new vent at Kilauea’s summit: Eos, Transactions of the American Geophysical Union, v. 89, p. 203.
Areas of Ph.D.: Geophysics, seismology, geodesy, deformation mechanics, civil or geological engineering, numerical modeling
Qualifications: Applicants must meet one of the following qualifications: Research Geophysicist , Research Geologist, Research Hydrologist
(This type of research is performed by those who have backgrounds for the occupations stated above. However, other titles may be applicable depending on the applicant's background, education, and research proposal. The final classification of the position will be made by the Human Resources specialist.)
Research Advisor(s): M. Poland, (808) 967-8891, mpoland@usgs.gov; A. Miklius, (808) 967-8804, asta@usgs.gov; P. Okubo, (808) 967-8802, pokubo@usgs.gov; J. Murray-Moraleda, (650) 329-4864, jrmurray@usgs.gov; T. Masterlark, (205) 348-6289, masterlark@geo.ua.edu
Human Resources Office contact: Candace Azevedo, (916) 278-9393, caazevedo@usgs.gov
|
Summary of Opportunities |