2D Synthetic dataset of numerical simulations of long-period seismicity in a volcanic edifice and related sensitivity kernels.

This work describes the data used in the EPSL research article "Quantifying strong seismic propagation effects in the upper volcanic edifice using sensitivity kernels". The dataset is generated in order to investigate to what extent the seismic signals recorded on volcanoes are affected by near surface velocity structure. Data were calculated using the computational spectral elements scheme SPECFEM2D, where the wave propagation beneath Mount Etna volcano, Italy, was simulated in both homogeneous and heterogeneous models. The heterogeneous model comprises a low-velocity superficial structure (top several hundred meters) based on the previously published studies. Several different source mechanisms and locations were used in the simulations. The seismic wavefield was "recorded" by 15 surface receivers distributed along the surface of the volcano. The associated sensitivity kernels were also computed. These kernels highlight the region of the velocity model that affects the recorded seismogram within a desired time window. The text files describing the velocity models used in the simulations are also provided. The data may be of interest to volcano seismologists, as well as earthquake seismologists studying path effects and wave propagation through complex media.

Micrometre-scale deformation observations reveal fundamental controls on geological rifting.

Many of the world's largest volcanic eruptions are associated with geological rifting where major fractures open at the Earth's surface, yet fundamental controls on the near-surface response to the rifting process are lacking. New high resolution observations gleaned from seismometer data during the 2014 Bárðarbunga basaltic dyke intrusion in Iceland allow us unprecedented access to the associated graben formation process on both sub-second and micrometre scales. We find that what appears as quasi steady-state near-surface rifting on lower resolution GPS observation comprises discrete staccato-like deformation steps as the upper crust unzips through repetitive low magnitude (MW < 0) failures on fracture patches estimated between 300 m2 and 1200 m2 in size. Stress drops for these events are one to two orders of magnitude smaller than expected for tectonic earthquakes, demonstrating that the uppermost crust in the rift zone is exceptionally weak.