Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T15:30:20.187Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Unusual signals recorded by ocean bottom seismometers in the flooded caldera of Deception Island volcano: volcanic gases or biological activity?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 November 2013

Daniel C. Bowman  and
William S.D. Wilcock
Daniel C. Bowman*
Affiliation:
GZA GeoEnvironmental, 249 Vanderbilt Avenue, Norwood, MA 02062, USA Department of Geological Sciences, Box 3315, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
William S.D. Wilcock
Affiliation:
School of Oceanography, Box 357940, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
*
daniel.bowman@unc.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

An ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) network was deployed for 1 month at Deception Island volcano, Antarctica, in early 2005. Although only two volcano-tectonic and three long-period events were observed, the three OBSs located > 2 km apart inside the caldera detected over 3900 events that could not be attributed to known volcanic or hydrothermal sources. These events are found on one instrument at a time and occur in three types. Type 1 events resemble impulsive signals from biological organisms while type 2 and type 3 events resemble long-period seismicity. The largest number of events was observed in a region of volcanic resurgence and hydrothermal venting. All three types occur together suggesting a common cause and they show evidence for a diurnal distribution. The events are most likely to be due to aquatic animals striking the sensors, but a geological source is also possible. In the first case, these signals indicate the presence of a biological community confined to the caldera. In the second case, they imply widespread hydrothermal activity in Port Foster. Future OBS experiments should bury the seismometers, include a hydrophone, deploy instruments side-by-side, or include a video camera to distinguish between biological and geological events.

Keywords

biological signaldegassinghydrothermal activityundersea seismic networkvolcanic seismology
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 26 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 267 - 275
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alguacil, G., Almendros, J.C., Del Pezzo, E., Garcia, A., Ibáñez, J.M., La Rocca, M., Morales, J. Ortiz, R. 1999. Observations of volcanic earthquakes and tremor at Deception Island - Antarctica. Annali Di Geofisica, 42, 417–436.Google Scholar
Barclay, A.H., Wilcock, W.S.D. Ibáñez, J.M. 2009. Bathymetric constraints on the tectonic and volcanic influences at Deception Island volcano, South Shetland Islands. Antarctic Science, 21, 153–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barker, D.H.N. Austin, J.A. 1998. Rift propagation, detachment faulting, and associated magmatism in Bransfield Strait, Antarctic Peninsula. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 103, 24 017–24 043.Google Scholar
Ben-Zvi, T., Wilcock, W.S.D., Barclay, A.H., Zandomeneghi, D., Ibáñez, J.M. Almendros, J. 2009. The P-wave velocity structure of Deception Island, Antarctica, from two-dimensional seismic tomography. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 180, 67–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buskirk, R.E., Frohlich, C., Latham, G.V., Chen, A.T. Lawton, J. 1981. Evidence that biological-activity affects ocean bottom seismograph recordings. Marine Geophysical Researches, 5, 189–205.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chouet, B. 1996. Long-period volcano seismicity: its source and use in eruption forecasting. Nature, 380, 309–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, A.P.R., Smellie, J.L. Maylin, J. 1998. Evidence for shallowing and uplift from bathymetric records of Deception Island, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 10, 455–461.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Díaz, J., Gallart, J. Gaspà, O. 2007. Atypical seismic signals at the Galicia Margin, north Atlantic Ocean, related to the resonance of subsurface fluid-filled cracks. Tectonophysics, 433, 1–13.Google Scholar
Duennebier, F.K. Sutton, G.H. 2007. Why bury ocean bottom seismometers? Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 8, 1–13.Google Scholar
Fadeli, A., Rydelek, P.A., Emter, D. Zürn, W. 1991. On volcanic shocks at Merapi and tidal triggering. In Schick, R. & Mugiono, R., eds. Volcanic tremor and magma flow. Jülich: Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH, 165–182.Google Scholar
Gasparini, P., Scarpa, R. Aki, K. 1992. Volcanic seismology. New York: Springer, 572 pp.Google Scholar
Ibáñez, J.M., Almendros, J., Carmona, E., Martínez-Arévalo, C. Abril, M. 2003a. The recent seismo-volcanic activity at Deception Island volcano. Deep Sea Research II - Topical Studies in Oceanography, 50, 1611–1629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibáñez, J.M., Carmona, E., Almendros, J., Saćcorotti, G., Del Pezzo, E., Abril, M. Ortiz, R. 2003b. The 1998–1999 seismic series at Deception Island volcano, Antarctica. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 128, 65–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ibáñez, J.M., Del Pezzo, E., Almendros, J., La Rocca, M., Alguacil, G., Ortiz, R. García, A. 2000. Seismovolcanic signals at Deception Island volcano, Antarctica: wave field analysis and source modeling. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 105, 13 905–13 931.Google Scholar
Lindquist, K. Quinlan, D. 2009. Antelope 4.11 reference guide. Boulder, CO: BRTT Inc, 53 pp.Google Scholar
Ortiz, R., Vila, J., Garcia, A., Camacho, A.G., Diez, J.L., Aparicio, A., Soto, R., Viramonte, J.G., Risso, C., Menegatti, N. Petrinovic, I. 1992. Geophysical features of Deception Island. In Yoshida, Y., Kaminuma, K. & Shiraishi, K., eds. Recent progress in Antarctic earth science. Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences. Tokyo: Terra Scientific Publishing Company (TERRAPUB), 443–448.Google Scholar
R CORE TEAM. 2012. R: a language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing, 3349 pp.Google Scholar
Rey, J., Somoza, L. Martínez-Frías, J. 1995. Tectonic, volcanic, and hydrothermal event sequence on Deception Island (Antarctica). Geo-Marine Letters, 15, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rydelek, P.A., Sacks, I.S. Scarpa, R. 1992. On tidal triggering of earthquakes at Campi Flegrei, Italy. Geophysical Journal International, 109, 125–137.Google Scholar
Smellie, J.L. 2001. Lithostratigraphy and volcanic evolution of Deception Island, South Shetland Islands. Antarctic Science, 13, 188–209.Google Scholar
Sohn, R.A., Hildebrand, J.A., Webb, S.C. Fox, C.G. 1995. Hydrothermal microseismicity at the megaplume site on the southern Juan de Fuca ridge. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 85, 775–786.Google Scholar
Sterne, T.E. 1954. Some remarks on confidence or fiducial limits. Biometrika, 41, 275–278.Google Scholar
Stich, D., Almendros, J., Jiménez, V., Mancilla, F. Carmona, E. 2011. Ocean noise triggering of rhythmic long period events at Deception Island volcano. Geophysical Research Letters, 38, 10.1029/2011GL049671.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tary, J.B., Géli, L., Guennou, C., Henry, P., Sultan, N., çağatay, N. Vidal, V. 2012. Microevents produced by gas migration and expulsion at the seabed: a study based on sea bottom recordings from the Sea of Marmara. Geophysical Journal International, 190, 993–1007.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tréhu, A.M. 1985. Coupling of ocean bottom seismometers to sediment: results of tests with the United States Geological Survey ocean bottom seismometer. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 75, 271–289.Google Scholar
Vidal, J., Berrocoso, M. Fernández-Ros, A. 2012. Study of tides and sea levels at Deception and Livingston islands, Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 24, 193–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vila, J., Ortiz, R., Correig, A.M. García, A. 1992. Seismic activity on Deception Island. In Yoshida, Y., Kaminuma, K. & Shiraishi, K., eds. Recent progress in Antarctic earth science. Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences. Tokyo: Terra Scientific Publishing Company (TERRAPUB), 449–456.Google Scholar
Zandomeneghi, D., Barclay, A., Almendros, J., Ibáñez Godoy, J.M., Wilcock, W.S.D. Ben-Zvi, T. 2009. Crustal structure of Deception Island volcano from P-wave seismic tomography: tectonic and volcanic implications. Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth, 114, 10.1029/2008JB006119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar