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Seismic tomography of compressional wave attenuation structure for Kı̄lauea Volcano, Hawai‘i
Author(s) -
Lin Guoqing,
Shearer Peter M.,
Amelung Falk,
Okubo Paul G.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: solid earth
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.983
H-Index - 232
eISSN - 2169-9356
pISSN - 2169-9313
DOI - 10.1002/2014jb011594
Subject(s) - geology , seismology , volcano , attenuation , seismic tomography , caldera , rift zone , hypocenter , rift , volcanology , inversion (geology) , amplitude , earthquake location , geodesy , tectonics , mantle (geology) , geophysics , induced seismicity , physics , quantum mechanics , optics
We present a frequency‐independent three‐dimensional (3‐D) compressional wave attenuation model (indicated by the reciprocal of quality factor Q p ) for Kı̄lauea Volcano in Hawai‘i. We apply the simul2000 tomographic algorithm to the attenuation operator t * values for the inversion of Q p perturbations through a recent 3‐D seismic velocity model and earthquake location catalog. The t * values are measured from amplitude spectra of 26708 P wave arrivals of 1036 events recorded by 61 seismic stations at the Hawaiian Volcanology Observatory. The 3‐D Q p model has a uniform horizontal grid spacing of 3 km, and the vertical node intervals range between 2 and 10 km down to 35 km depth. In general, the resolved Q p values increase with depth, and there is a correlation between seismic activity and low‐ Q p values. The area beneath the summit caldera is dominated by low‐ Q p anomalies throughout the entire resolved depth range. The Southwest Rift Zone and the East Rift Zone exhibit very high Q p values at about 9 km depth, whereas the shallow depths are characterized with low‐ Q p anomalies comparable with those in the summit area. The seismic zones and fault systems generally display relatively high Q p values relative to the summit. The newly developed Q p model provides an important complement to the existing velocity models for exploring the magmatic system and evaluating and interpreting intrinsic physical properties of the rocks in the study area.