Degassing explosions at Karymsky Volcano, Kamchatka

Abstract

During the summer of 1997, Karymsky Volcano produced summit explosions about six times each hour. Typical explosive episodes lasted between 30 seconds and three minutes, produced gas and ash columns several hundred meters high, and ejected some incandescent material. To better understand the physical source mechanisms responsible, we recorded hundreds of explosions with a three component broad-band seismometer and microphone located 1650 meters from the active vent. Nearly every explosion is recorded as an emergent yet identical seismic wavelet which is followed 4.15 s later by an impulsive acoustic arrival. We interpret the signals as a near-surface gas volume burst which fractures the vent 'plug,' lowers the lithostatic pressure within the magma column, and often induces further degassing. When degassing continues, it is generally manifested as either a series of regular one second 'chugging' explosions, steady higher frequency 'jetting', or a hybrid combination. We believe that the seismic signature for 'chugs,' short duration harmonic tremor with integer overtones, is the result of repeated gas volume bursts at the vent. In contrast, seismograms for jetting are non-harmonic and contain higher frequencies. We believe that the competing degassing behaviors are influenced by the gas flux as well as the plug/conduit characteristics. We propose that a plug exists due to a viscosity gradient caused by volatile depletion in the upper conduit.