Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Keywords

Submarine landslides, Hydroacoustic data, West Mata volcano

Abstract

Submarine landslides are an important process in volcano growth yet are rarely observed and poorly understood. We show that landslides occur frequently in association with the eruption of West Mata volcano in the NE Lau Basin. These events are identifiable in hydroacoustic data recorded between ~5 and 20 km from the volcano and may be recognized in spectrograms by the weak and strong powers at specific frequencies generated by multipathing of sound waves. The summation of direct and surface-reflected arrivals causes interference patterns in the spectrum that change with time as the landslide propagates. Observed frequencies are consistent with propagation down the volcano’s north flank in an area known to have experienced mass wasting in the past. These data allow us to estimate the distance traveled by West Mata landslides and show that they travel at average speeds of ~10–25m/s.

Publication Title

Geophysical Research Letters

Volume

41

Required Publisher's Statement

©2014. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved

DOI:10.1002/2014GL060964

Comments

This publisher allows the publisher PDF to be added to an institutional repository six months after publication. This article was accepted online 28 JUL 2014.

Subjects - Topical (LCSH)

Submarine volcanoes--Polynesia; Volcanic activity prediction--Polynesia; Landslides--Polynesia

Geographic Coverage

Polynesia

Genre/Form

articles

Type

Text

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

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