Precursory tilt changes associated with a phreatic eruption of the Hakone volcano and the corresponding source model

Abstract

Abstract The 2015 unrest of the Hakone volcano in Japan, which began on April 26, generated earthquake swarms accompanied by long-term deformation. The earthquake swarm activity reached its maximum in mid-May and gradually calmed down; however, it increased again on the morning of June 29, 2015. Simultaneously with the earthquake increase, rapid tilt changes started 10 s before 07:33 (JST) and they lasted for approximately 2 min. The rapid tilt changes likely reflected opening of a shallow crack that was formed near the eruption center prior to the phreatic eruption on that day. In this study, we modeled the pressure source beneath the eruption center based on static tilt changes determined using both tilt meters and broadband seismometers. In the best-fit model, the source depth was 854 m above sea level, and its orientation (N316°E) agreed with the direction of maximum compression estimated based on focal mechanism and S-wave splitting data. The extent of the crack opening was estimated to be 4.6 cm, while the volume change was approximately 1.6 × 105 m3. The top of the crack reached to approximately 150 m below the eruption center. Because the crack was too thin to be penetrated by magma, the crack opening was attributed to the intrusion of hydrothermal water. This intrusion of hydrothermal water may have triggered the phreatic eruption. Reverse polarity motion with respect to that expected from crack opening was recognized in 1 Hz tilt records during the first 20 s of the intrusion of hydrothermal water. This motion, not the subsidence of volcanic edifice, was responsible for the observed displacement.

Keywords

• Hakone volcano
• Broadband seismogram
• Tilt change
• Pressure source model