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Article
Estimates of Eruption Velocity and Plume Height from Infrasonic Recordings of the 2006 Eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska
Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research (2010)
  • Jacqueline Caplan-Auerbach, Western Washington University
  • Anna Bellesiles
  • Jennifer K. Fernandes
Abstract
The 2006 eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska, began with an explosive phase comprising 13 discrete Vulcanian blasts. These events generated ash plumes reaching heights of 3–14 km. The eruption was recorded by a dense geophysical network including a pressure sensor located 3.2 km from the vent. Infrasonic signals recorded in association with the eruptions have maximum pressures ranging from 13–111 Pa. Eruption durations are estimated to range from 55–350 s. Neither of these parameters, however, correlates with eruption plume height. The pressure record, however, can be used to estimate the velocity and flux of material erupting from the vent, assuming that the sound is generated as a dipole source. Eruptive flux, in turn, is used to estimate plume height, assuming that the plume rises as a buoyant thermal. Plume heights estimated in this way correlate well with observations. Events that exhibit strongly impulsive waveforms are underestimated by the model, suggesting that flow may have been supersonic.
Keywords
  • Eruption,
  • Plume,
  • Infrasound,
  • Acoustic
Disciplines
Publication Date
January, 2010
Publisher Statement
Copyright © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. DOI:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2009.10.002
Citation Information
Jacqueline Caplan-Auerbach, Anna Bellesiles and Jennifer K. Fernandes. "Estimates of Eruption Velocity and Plume Height from Infrasonic Recordings of the 2006 Eruption of Augustine Volcano, Alaska" Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research Vol. 189 Iss. 1-2 (2010)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jacqueline_caplan-auerbach/18/