Characteristics of Long-Period Events Associated With Volcanic Degassing at Popocatepetl Volcano, Mexico.

Emissions of gas and ash dominate volcanic eruptive activity in Popocatepetl volcano since 1994. Volcanic eruptive activity consists of construction and destruction dome phases. Ash emissions ranged from small short-lived plumes rising a few hundred meters above the crater rim, to larger plumes reaching up to 15 km above the crater. Resulting tephra falls dusted the entire summit area. Bursts of volcanic degassing accompanied by long-period (LP) seismic signals observed as isolated events, or as sequences of discrete events with overall durations and amplitudes. Some gas emissions accompanied by persistent or spasmodic tremor. There are four families of LP events identified within the frequency range between 0.5 and 5 Hz. Family-one presents low-frequency emergent onsets with higher amplitudes at higher frequencies. Family-two includes emergent onsets with modulate amplitudes simulating tremor and dominant frequencies in defined picks in the band between 1 and 3 Hz. Family-three presents LP events with impulsive onset and decaying amplitude with time, these events present a wide range of amplitudes and dominant frequencies around 2 Hz. Family-four includes LP events with monochromatic appearance with sharp picks below 3 Hz. From thousands of LP events preliminary locations based on phase picks suggest that LP seismicity occur within uppermost 1000 m below the crater floor, consistently constrain defined clusters in the east-region of the crater and in the area where the domes growth. The network used to located LP events included 15 broadband stations distributed along radial profiles on the upper flanks of Popocatepetl. We report data collected during a broadband seismic experiment carried out at Popocatepetl Volcano as part of an international cooperative program between the GeoForschungsZentr um, Potsdam, Germany, the U.S. Geological Survey and the Institute of Geophysics, UNAM, MEXICO.