Collaborative Research: Facility Support for the CALIPSO Borehole Observatory, Soufriere Hills Volcano, Montserrat

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This collaborative grant to the University of Arkansas, Carnegie Institution of Washington, and Penn State supports a three year continuation of operation and maintenance costs and some instrumental upgrades of the CALIPSO Borehole Facility (Caribbean Andesitic Lava Island Precision Seismo-geodetic Observatory) on Montserrat, WI. The CALIPSO project investigates the dynamics of the entire magmatic system of Soufriere Hills Volcano (SHV) to enhance of understanding of andesitic magma dynamics in general. CALIPSO was initiated in 2002 with drilling and installation of four high-sensitivity borehole seismic and ground deformation (strainmeter, tiltmeter, cGPS) stations around the SHV. Initial funding was from EAR/Continental Dynamics and the Instrumentation and an Facilities Program with some contribution from UK sources. Installations were completed in 2004, and CALIPSO data have been recovered from SHV, including those from a prodigious lava dome collapse (historically the world's largest) in 2003, and explosions in 2003 and 2004. Continuation of geodetic and seismic observations of the active SHV should reveal important internal features of this currently erupting subduction zone andesitic volcano with implications for improved understanding of physical volcanological processes and magma chamber geochemical and petrologic processes. Facility data will complement an upcoming and EAR/Geophysics and UK funded SEA-CALIPSO offshore seismic refection/refraction experiment which should reveal deeper (5-10 km) features in the magmatic system and greatly improve the seismic-velocity models used for locating eruption-related seismicity. Graduate students and undergraduate students from the institutions will be trained in deformation and seismic modeling and onshore/offshore seismic imaging using SEA-CALIPSO and CALIPSO Facility data. Data from the CALIPSO facility will support volcanic hazard mitigation. As a result of this support the PIs will complete the telemetry and data handling solutions necessary to move the data into the public realm through the UNAVCO and IRIS archives.