Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4693945 Tectonophysics 2009 9 Pages PDF
Abstract

A dyke conduit has been shown to be a realistic model for the shallow magmatic feeder system for the dome forming eruption at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat. Here we use a three-dimensional Finite Element model to examine the ground deformation that can be expected due to the pressurization of a dyke conduit. We find that the generated deformation has a bilateral symmetry with nearly no displacement in the direction of dyke strike, and a maximal ground deformation about 1 km away from the vent in the perpendicular direction. Resultant surface deformation is mainly triggered by the upper part of the feeder system, where the dyke opens into a cylindrical conduit. We apply our deformation model to investigate tilt data collected in 1997 in order to infer the orientation of the dyke. We obtain a best-fit for a NNW–SSE trending dyke, which matches observations of the ground displacement field obtained by differential GPS and the alignment of main structural geologic features of southern Montserrat.

Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Earth and Planetary Sciences Earth-Surface Processes
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