Monitoring volcano deformation at La Soufrière, St. Vincent during the 2020-21 eruption with insights into its magma plumbing system architecture

CAMEJO-HARRY, MICHAL; PASCAL, KAREN; EUILLADES, PABLO; GRANDIN, RAPHAËL; HAMLING, IAN; EUILLADES, LEONARDO; CONTRERAS-ARRATIA, RODRIGO; RYAN, GRAHAM A.; LATCHMAN, JOAN L.; LYNCH, LLOYD; JO, MINJEONG

GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON SPECIAL PUBLICATION

The Geological Society of London

Año: 2023 vol. 539

0305-8719

Measurements of surface deformation provide valuable insight into sub-volcanic processes operating before, during and after eruptions. Here, we investigate the drivers behind the 2020-21 effusive-explosive episode at La Soufrière volcano in St. Vincent using Global Positioning System (GPS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data between 2018 and 2021, and geodetic modelling. We observe inflation up to six months before the start to the effusive phase, which continued as the dome extruded. Once the eruption transitioned to the explosive phase, the volcano rapidly deflated, the bulk happening within the first three days of explosions. Our analytical modelling distinguishes three pressure source depth ranges contributing to this eruptive episode: 16 – 20, ~6 and