Showing papers by "Mark Simons published in 2001"

The complete (3-D) surface displacement field in the epicentral area of the 1999 Mw7.1 Hector Mine earthquake, California, from space geodetic observations

Abstract: We use Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data to derive continuous maps for three orthogonal components of the co-seismic surface displacement field due to the 1999 M_w7.1 Hector Mine earthquake in southern California. Vertical and horizontal displacements are both predominantly antisymmetric with respect to the fault plane, consistent with predictions of linear elastic models of deformation for a strike-slip fault. Some deviations from symmetry apparent in the surface displacement data may result from complexity in the fault geometry.

Deformation due to a pressurized horizontal circular crack in an elastic half-space, with applications to volcano geodesy

Abstract: We consider deformation due to sill-like magma intrusions using a model of a horizontal circular crack in a semi-infinite elastic solid. We present exact expressions for vertical and horizontal displacements of the free surface of a half-space, and calculate surface displacements for a special case of a uniformly pressurized crack. We derive expressions for other observable geophysical parameters, such as the volume of a surface uplift/subsidence, and the corresponding volume change due to fluid injection/withdrawal at depth. We demonstrate that for essentially oblate (i.e. sill-like) source geometries the volume change at the source always equals the volume of the displaced material at the surface of a half-space. Our solutions compare favourably to a number of previously published approximate models. Surface deformation due to a ‘point’ crack (that is, a crack with a large depth-to-radius ratio) differs appreciably from that due to an isotropic point source (‘Mogi model’). Geodetic inversions that employ only one component of deformation (either vertical or horizontal) are unlikely to resolve the overall geometry of subsurface deformation sources even in a simplest case of axisymmetric deformation. Measurements of a complete vector displacement field at the Earth's surface may help to constrain the depth and morphology of active magma reservoirs. However, our results indicate that differences in surface displacements due to various axisymmetric sources may be subtle. In particular, the sill-like and pluton-like magma chambers may give rise to differences in the ratio of maximum horizontal displacements to maximum vertical displacements (a parameter that is most indicative of the source geometry) that are less than 30 per cent. Given measurement errors in geodetic data, such differences may be hard to distinguish.

Evidence for on-going inflation of the Socorro magma body, New Mexico, from Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar imaging

Abstract: Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) imaging of the central Rio Grande rift (New Mexico, USA) during 1992–1999 reveals a crustal uplift of several centimeters that spatially coincides with the seismologically determined outline of the Socorro magma body, one of the largest currently active magma intrusions in the Earth's continental crust. Modeling of interferograms shows that the observed deformation may be due to elastic opening of a sill-like intrusion at a rate of a few millimeters per year. Despite an apparent constancy of the geodetically determined uplift rate, thermodynamic arguments suggest that it is unlikely that the Socorro magma body has formed via steady state elastic inflation.

Finite source modelling of magmatic unrest in Socorro, New Mexico, and Long Valley, California

Abstract: SUMMARY We investigate surface deformation associated with currently active crustal magma bodies in Socorro, New Mexico, and Long Valley, California, USA. We invert available geodetic data from these locations to constrain the overall geometry and dynamics of the inferred deformation sources at depth. Our best-fitting model for the Socorro magma body is a sill with a depth of 19 km, an effective diameter of 70 km and a rate of increase in the excess magma pressure of 0.6 kPa yr x1 . We show that the corresponding volumetric inflation rate is y6r10 x3 km 3 yr x1 , which is considerably less than previously suggested. The measured inflation rate of the Socorro magma body may result from a steady influx of magma from a deep source, or a volume increase associated with melting of the magma chamber roof (i.e. crustal anatexis). In the latter case, the most recent major injection of mantle-derived melts into the middle crust beneath Socorro may have occurred within the last several tens to several hundreds of years. The Synthetic Interferometric Aperture Radar (InSAR) data collected in the area of the Long Valley caldera, CA, between June 1996 and July 1998 reveal an intracaldera uplift with a maximum amplitude of y11 cm and a volume of 3.5r10 x2 km 3 . Modelling of the InSAR data suggests that the observed deformation might be due to either a sill-like magma body at a depth of y12 km or a pluton-like magma body at a depth of y8 km beneath the resurgent dome. Assuming that the caldera fill deforms as an isotropic linear elastic solid, a joint inversion of the InSAR data and two-colour laser geodimeter data (which provide independent constraints on horizontal displacements at the surface) suggests that the inferred magma chamber is a steeply dipping prolate spheroid with a depth of 7‐9 km and an aspect ratio in excess of 2:1. Our results highlight the need for large radar look angles and multiple look directions in future InSAR missions.

Gravity/Topography Admittances and Lithospheric Evolution on Mars: The Importance of Finite-Amplitude Topography

Abstract: We calculate localized gravity/topography admittances for Mars, in order to estimate elastic lithosphere thickness. A finite-amplitude correction to modeled gravity is required to properly interpret admittances in high-relief regions of Mars. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.