Multi-temporal behaviour of a persistently active volcano - Masaya, Nicaragua

An in depth understanding of the processes responsible for persistent volcanism can only be achieved through the integration of multi-temporal geophysical and geochemical techniques. Gravity changes combined with ground deformation and gas flux have provided important information on magma reservoir mass changes and rates of magma emplacement or recharge. While the long-term micro-gravity, ground deformation and SO2 flux data collected at Masaya volcano (Nicaragua) since 1993 has identified significant multi-year cycles of activity, recent continuous micro-gravity surveys have shown significant short-term signals. Current activity is characterised by repeated periods of significant passive degassing (>2000 t/d SO2) with infrequent vent-clearing eruptions of negligible amounts of juvenile material. The multi-year gravity and gas flux variations are most likely due to gas accumulation in the shallow substructure controlled by the convective overturn of shallow degassed, cooled and dense magma replaced periodically by lower density, hot, gas-rich magma from depth. However, the presence of a small hydrothermal system can act as a physical and chemical buffer to the volcanic system while the essentially 'open' nature of Masaya's substructure can obscure short-term variations. In order to investigate the origin and importance of these short-term variations, continuous gravity and deformation surveys were made in March 2006 and 2007 in the summit craters of Masaya. During this period, residual gravity variations of ~60 µGal were measured with wavelengths of ~20 hours. These variations may be due in part to rapid changes in the hydrothermal system, occilations in height of the magma column or changes in vesiculation due to varying rates of gas flux. Concurrent detailed self-potential (SP) mapping, with soil CO2 and temperature measurements, delineated the shape and position of a small hydrothermal system centered on the main Nindiri crater. Processing of the SP data by continuous wavelet transform indicates that the principal hydrothermal cell is less than 200 m below the surface. Future SP surveys will thus allow for monitoring of any variations in depth of the hydrothermal system. Near continuous SO2 flux measurements were also made in order to investigate whether rapid changes in vesiculation of the shallow magma could be responsible for the observed gravity changes. While long-term multi-component monitoring has proven valuable in explaining the observed multi-year changes, notably, the importance of gas-driven convection, a combination of self-potential, continuous gravity, deformation and gas flux measurements are necessary to explain the short-term variations in magmatic activity.