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Volume Flow Rate Estimation for Small Explosions at Mt. Etna, Italy, From Acoustic Waveform Inversion
Author(s) -
DiazMoreno A.,
Iezzi A. M.,
Lamb O. D.,
Fee D.,
Kim K.,
Zuccarello L.,
De Angelis S.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2019gl084598
Subject(s) - geology , waveform , inversion (geology) , pyroclastic rock , seismology , directivity , volcano , acoustics , multipole expansion , strombolian eruption , geophysics , physics , computer science , radar , telecommunications , quantum mechanics , antenna (radio) , tectonics
Rapid assessment of the volume and the rate at which gas and pyroclasts are injected into the atmosphere during volcanic explosions is key to effective eruption hazard mitigation. Here, we use data from a dense infrasound network deployed in 2017 on Mt. Etna, Italy, to estimate eruptive volume flow rates (VFRs) during small gas‐and‐ash explosions. We use a finite‐difference time‐domain approximation to compute the acoustic Green's functions and perform a full waveform inversion for a multipole source, combining monopole and horizontal dipole terms. The inversion produces realistic estimates of VFR, on the order of 4 × 10 4 m 3 /s and well‐defined patterns of source directivity. This is the first application of acoustic waveform inversion at Mt. Etna. Our results demonstrate that acoustic waveform inversion is a mature and robust tool for assessment of source parameters and holds potential as a tool to provide rapid estimates of VFR in near real time.