Magma accumulation and inflation mechanisms at Fernandina volcano, Galapagos Islands

火山作用涉及具有低硅含量（“玄武岩”）的熔融岩石（“岩浆”），是地球系统的基本组成部分，对大陆分裂，新洋壳的形成和海洋岛屿的生长至关重要。玄武岩火山活动也对生活在这些火山附近的人构成重大危险，通过熔岩流，火山灰下降和气体排放破坏财产，基础设施和生计。这种喷发的时间、规模、风格和位置取决于岩浆的上升、储存和迁移，这些都发生在地下，无法直接观察到。因此，我们的大部分理解都依赖于对小地震和岩浆运动引起的地球表面变形的测量。我们将对厄瓜多尔加拉帕戈斯群岛西部的一座非常活跃的大型火山费尔南迪纳火山的岩浆积聚所导致的地震进行新的测量。自2022年8月以来，对费尔南迪纳地震和隆起的观察表明，大量岩浆正在上升到火山的浅层，这可能预示着未来的喷发。然而，费尔南迪纳地处偏远，这意味着现有的监测网络无法以必要的分辨率记录这一活动，以了解正在发生的关键进程。通过紧急安装密集的现代地震仪网络，我们将捕获一个重要而新颖的数据集，该数据集将告诉我们火山如何容纳新的岩浆以及火山的内部结构和特性。这些数据将支持对这些系统的行为进行建模的新方法，并最终能够更好地预测全球未来的火山爆发。

Volcanism involving molten rock ('magma') with a low silica content ('basalt') is a fundamental component of the Earth system, critical to continental break-up, formation of new oceanic crust, and the growth of ocean islands. Basaltic volcanism also poses a significant hazard to those living near such volcanoes, destroying property, infrastructure, and livelihoods through lava flows, tephra fall, and gas emissions. The timing, size, style, and location of such eruptions is determined by the ascent, storage, and migration of magma, which take place under the ground, hidden from direct observation. Consequently, much of our understanding relies on measurements of small earthquakes and deformation of the Earth's surface caused by the movement of magma. We will make new measurements of the earthquakes that result from the accumulation of magma at Fernandina, a large and very active volcano in the western Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Since August 2022, the observation of earthquakes and uplift at Fernandina indicate that large volumes of magma are ascending to shallow levels in the volcano, potentially heralding a future eruption. However, the remote location of Fernandina means that the existing monitoring network is not able to record this activity with the resolution necessary to understand the key processes that are taking place. By urgently installing a dense network of modern seismometers, we will capture an important and novel dataset which will tell us about how the volcano accommodates the new magma and the internal structure and properties of the volcano. These data will underpin new approaches to modelling the behaviour of these systems, and ultimately to be better able to forecast future eruptions worldwide.