Tim Greenfield

Strike‐slip faulting during the 2014 Bárðarbunga‐Holuhraun dike intrusion, central Iceland

Over a 13?day period magma propagated laterally from the subglacial Barðarbunga volcano in the northern rift zone, Iceland. It created >?30,000 earthquakes at 5–7?km depth along a 48?km path before erupting on 29 August 2014. The seismicity, which tracked the dike propagation, advanced in short bursts at 0.3–4.7?km/h separated by pauses of up to 81?h. During each surge forward, seismicity behind the dike tip dropped. Moment tensor solutions from the leading edge show exclusively left-lateral strike-slip faulting subparallel to the advancing dike tip, releasing accumulated strain deficit in the brittle layer of the rift zone. Behind the leading edge, both left- and right-lateral strike-slip earthquakes are observed. The lack of non-double-couple earthquakes implies that the dike opening was aseismic.

Seismic imaging of the shallow crust beneath the Krafla central volcano, NE Iceland

We studied the seismic velocity structure beneath the Krafla central volcano, NE Iceland, by performing 3-D tomographic inversions of 1453 earthquakes recorded by a temporary local seismic network between 2009 and 2012. The seismicity is concentrated primarily around the Leirhnjukur geothermal field near the center of the Krafla caldera. To obtain robust velocity models, we incorporated active seismic data from previous surveys. The Krafla central volcano has a relatively complex velocity structure with higher P wave velocities (V_p) underneath regions of higher topographic relief and two distinct low-V_p anomalies beneath the Leirhnjukur geothermal field. The latter match well with two attenuating bodies inferred from S wave shadows during the Krafla rifting episode of 1974–1985. Within the Leirhnjukur geothermalreservoir, we resolved a shallow (−0.5 to 0.5 km below sea level; bsl) region with low-V_p/V_s values and a deeper (0.5–1.5 km bsl) high-V_p/V_s zone. We interpret the difference in the velocity ratios of the two zones to be caused by higher rock porosities and crack densities in the shallow region and lower porosities and crack densities in the deeper region. A strong low-V_p/V_s anomaly underlies these zones, where a superheated steam zone within felsic rock overlies rhyolitic melt.

The magmatic plumbing system of the Askja central volcano, Iceland, as imaged by seismic tomography

The magmatic plumbing system beneath Askja, a volcano in the central Icelandic highlands, is imaged using local earthquake tomography. We use a catalog of more than 1300 earthquakes widely distributed in location and depth to invert for the P wave velocity (Vp) and the Vp/Vs ratio. Extensive synthetic tests show that the minimum size of any velocity anomaly recovered by the model is ~4 km in the upper crust (depth < 8 km below sea level (bsl)), increasing to ~10 km in the lower crust at a depth of 20 km bsl. The plumbing system of Askja is revealed as a series of high-Vp/Vs ratio bodies situated at discrete depths throughout the crust to depths of over 20 km. We interpret these to be regions of the crust which currently store melt with melt fractions of ~10%. The lower crustal bodies are all seismically active, suggesting that melt is being actively transported in these regions. The main melt storage regions lie beneath Askja volcano, concentrated at depths of 5 km bsl with a smaller region at 9 km bsl. Their total volume is ~100 km3. Using the recorded waveforms, we show that there is also likely to be a small, highly attenuating magmatic body at a shallower depth of about 2 km bsl.

Building icelandic igneous crust by repeated melt injections

Observations of microseismicity provide a powerful tool for mapping the movement of melt in the crust. Here we record remarkable sequences of earthquakes 20 km below the surface in the normally ductile crust in the vicinity of Askja Volcano, in northeast Iceland. The earthquakes occur in swarms consisting of identical waveforms repeating as frequently as every 8 s for up to 3 h. We use template waveforms from each swarm to detect and locate earthquakes with an automated cross-correlation technique. Events are located in the lower crust and are inferred to be the result of melt being injected into the crust. During melt intrusion high strain rates are produced in conjunction with high pore fluid pressures from the melt or exsolved carbon dioxide. These cause brittle failure on high-angle fault planes located at the tips of sills. Moment tensor solutions show that most of the earthquakes are opening cracks accompanied by volumetric increases. This is consistent with the failure causing the earthquakes by melt injection opening new tensile cracks. Analysis of the magnitude distribution of earthquakes within a swarm reveals a complicated relationship between the imposed strain rates and the fluids that cause brittle failure. The magnitude of the earthquakes is controlled by the distance fluids can migrate along a fault, whereas the frequency of the events is controlled by the strain rate. Faults at the tips of sills act to focus melt transport between sills and so must be an important method of transporting melt through the lower crust.

Deep crustal melt plumbing of Bárðarbunga volcano, Iceland

Understanding magmatic plumbing within the Earths crust is important for understanding volcanic systems and improving eruption forecasting. We discuss magma plumbing under Barðarbunga volcano, Iceland, over a 4 year period encompassing the largest Icelandic eruption in 230 years. Microseismicity extends through the usually ductile region of the Earths crust, from 7 to 22 km depth in a subvertical column. Moment tensor solutions for an example earthquake exhibits opening tensile crack behavior. This is consistent with the deep (>7 km) seismicity being caused by the movement of melt in the normally aseismic crust. The seismically inferred melt path from the mantle source is offset laterally from the center of the Barðarbunga caldera by ~12 km, rather than lying directly beneath it. It is likely that an aseismic melt feed also exists directly beneath the caldera and is aseismic due to elevated temperatures and pervasive partial melt under the caldera.