EGU22-13256
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-13256
EGU General Assembly 2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

An experimental investigation of seismic and acoustic harmonic tremor gliding and implication for churn-like flow

Laura Spina1, Andrea Cannata2, Daniele Morgavi4, Eugenio Privitera3, and Diego Perugini4
Laura Spina et al.
  • 1Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione di Roma1, Rome, Italy
  • 2Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Catania, Catania, Italy
  • 3Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo, Catania, Italy
  • 4Dipartimento di Fisica e Geologia, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy

The gradual shift over time of the spectral lines of harmonic seismic and/or acoustic tremor, that is commonly known as spectral gliding, has been largely observed at different volcanoes. Despite the clear advantage of the experimental approach in providing direct observation of degassing processes and of the related elastic radiation, experimental studies on gliding tremor are lacking. To fill this gap, we investigated different episodes of gliding of acoustic and seismic tremor observed during analogue degassing experiments performed under different experimental conditions, by systematically changing: 1) analogue magma viscosity (10-1,000 Pa s), 2) gas flux (5-180x10-3 l/s) and 3) conduit surface roughness (fractal dimension of 2-2.99). The occurrence of gliding experimental seismic and acoustic tremor was linked to high gas flux rates and viscosities and generally associated with an increasing trend and often preceding a major burst. In a few cases we observed decreasing secondary sets of harmonic spectral lines. Results suggest that gliding episodes are mainly related to the progressive volume variation of shallow interconnected gas pockets. Spectral analyses performed on acoustic signals provided the theoretical length of the resonator. The latter was compared against the temporal evolution of the gas pockets, quantified from video analyses. The similarities between the observed degassing regime and churn-annular flow in high viscous fluids encourages further studies on churn dynamics in volcanic environments.

How to cite: Spina, L., Cannata, A., Morgavi, D., Privitera, E., and Perugini, D.: An experimental investigation of seismic and acoustic harmonic tremor gliding and implication for churn-like flow, EGU General Assembly 2022, Vienna, Austria, 23–27 May 2022, EGU22-13256, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu22-13256, 2022.