Abstract
Measurements of ground tilt are a critical geodetic tool for monitoring
active volcanoes because they provide multidimensional data that can
resolve complex deformation signals. We are developing a
Self-Calibrating Tilt Accelerometer (SCTA) for use in the marine
environment and present results from two deployments: on land at the
Scripps Institution of Oceanography Cecil and Ida Green Piñon Flat
Observatory and on the seafloor at Axial Seamount on the Juan de Fuca
Ridge. The SCTA utilizes a Quartz Sensor Solutions triaxial
accelerometer on a gimbal system to periodically rotate the horizontal
channels into the vertical to calibrate against the local g vector,
achieving high precision and stability within 1 microradian. The SCTA
tiltmeter has the added benefit of simultaneously measuring ground
accelerations and recording seismic signals. We compare the SCTA
performance at the center of the summit caldera at Axial Seamount
against a co-located Jewell Instruments LILY tiltmeter on the OOI Cabled
Array. The tilt measurements in one direction are consistent, but the
data suggest that the deployment platform for the SCTA may be settling
in the other direction. We are using data from the ensemble of 4 cabled
pressure sensors and 5 tilt sensors at Axial, including the SCTA, to
study its inflation behavior since its eruption in 2015. We have
identified several significant, cm-scale deflation events of durations
of tens of days. The tilt and relative elevations of instrument sites
are asymmetric about their turning points, suggesting a more complex
mechanism than a simple inflation reversal. We are conducting forward
modeling of the deformation signals to determine if the geodetic signals
are consistent with differential slip rates, normalized to the rate of
inflation/deflation, on the caldera’s outwardly dipping ring faults
between these periods. Another plausible mechanism that we plan to
investigate is the lateral transport of magma from beneath the southern
caldera to either the northern caldera or to a secondary reservoir,
located 5 km to the east. These deflation events are potentially
important for understanding the mechanisms of magma supply, storage, and
transport at Axial Seamount, as well as for accurately forecasting
future eruptions, which have been shown to be inflation-predictable.