| NSF Org: |
EAR Division Of Earth Sciences |
| Recipient: |
|
| Initial Amendment Date: | December 21, 2015 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | December 21, 2015 |
| Award Number: | 1620977 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Jennifer Wade
jwade@nsf.gov (703)292-4739 EAR Division Of Earth Sciences GEO Directorate for Geosciences |
| Start Date: | January 1, 2016 |
| End Date: | December 31, 2018 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $40,432.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $40,432.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
|
| History of Investigator: |
|
| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
201 OLD MAIN UNIVERSITY PARK PA US 16802-1503 (814)865-1372 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
|
| Primary Place of Performance: |
340 Deike Building University Park PA US 16802-7000 |
| Primary Place of
Performance Congressional District: |
|
| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
|
| Parent UEI: |
|
| NSF Program(s): |
Petrology and Geochemistry, International Research Collab, DEEP EARTH PROCESSES SECTION |
| Primary Program Source: |
|
| Program Reference Code(s): |
|
| Program Element Code(s): |
|
| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
Volcan Momotombo, Nicaragua is a basaltic to basaltic-andesite stratovolcano located along the active Central American Volcanic Arc. It last erupted in 1905. Seismic swarms have been occurring beneath Momotombo for the past year. A major seismic swarm, which included an M4.7 earthquake, began on November 24, 2015, and culminated in gas and ash eruptions beginning at 7:49 am (local time) on December 1, 2015. By the evening of December 1, Momotombo was in strombolian eruption with columns to ~1 km and lava flows flowing down the northern flank of the volcano. At this stage the Momotombo eruption appears to be characterized by both small-volume lava and small-volume tephra emissions.
This RAPID funding will support a multi-disciplinary team that will travel to Nicaragua to collaborate with our INETER colleagues to: 1) install GPS instruments around the volcano and analyze existing GPS data; 2) install four broadband seismic instruments to study magma storage and migration beneath Momotombo; 3) make observations of the ongoing eruption to study the style of eruptive activity and collect tephra samples to investigate plume dynamics; 4) collect samples of tephra and lava flows for geochemical analyses; and 5) investigate precursory volcano and crustal deformation at Momomtombo using InSAR. This project leverages support from the NSF-funded COCONet project, the CEOS initiative, and existing infrastructure from previous NSF-funded projects led by members of this team.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
Observing magmatic systems before, during and after volcanic eruptions provides opportunities for understanding the complex interplay between the magmatic system, magmatic chemistry, and the surrounding lithosphere, as well as the inherent hazards and risks associated with such activity. Geophysical and geochemical observations of the 2015-2016 eruption of Volc?n Momotombo are allowing us to study magmatic and volcanic, as well as, magma-tectonic processes in the lead up to, during and following the eruption. Volc?n Momotombo, Nicaragua is a basaltic to basaltic-andesite stratovolcano located along the active Central American Volcanic Arc. It last erupted in 1905. Seismic swarms occurred beneath Momotombo in the year leading up to the eruption, following a regional M 6.1 earthquake in April 2014 that displaced the southern flank of the volcano up to 6 cm. A major seismic swarm, which included an M4.7 earthquake, began on November 24, 2015, and culminated in gas and ash eruptions beginning at 7:49 am (local time) on December 1, 2015. By the evening of December 1, Momotombo was in strombolian eruption with columns to ~1 km and lava flows flowing down the northern flank of the volcano. The lava flowed ceased on December 6. The volcano then transitioned from this effusive stage to an explosive stage. From February 1, 2016, activity commenced with more frequent vulcanian eruptions, which continued until last observed activity on April 7, 2016. A total of 138 explosions took place between February 1 and April 7, 2016 identified from analysis of web-cam data. As part of this NSF RAPID award, we: 1) installed 8 cGPS instruments around the volcano, analyzed new and existing GPS data, and analyzed available SAR data to investigate pre-, co- and post-eruptive deformation of the volcano; 2) collected terrestrial radar data and analyzed existing digital elevation models derived from satellite radar data to investigate lava flow volumes and emplacement mechanisms; 3) installed four (4) broadband seismic instruments to study magma storage and migration beneath Momotombo; and 4) made observations of the ongoing eruption to study the style of eruptive activity and collected tephra and lava samples to investigate the petrology and geochemistry of eruptive products. These efforts were all in collaboration with our collaborators at INETER.
From our observations and preliminary analyses, we have determined the following: 1) the lava flow used an existing channel formed during the 1905 eruption to flow down the norther flank; 2) the lava flow volume is 0.03 km3; 3) the composition of the lava flow and erupted tephra are basaltic andesite; 4) no major deformation phase was observed prior to eruptive activity; 5) the eruption transitioned from effusive (strombolian style with lava emission) to explosive (vulcanian style), suggesting a change in the viscosity of the magma within the conduit.
Last Modified: 04/11/2019
Modified by: Peter Lafemina
Please report errors in award information by writing to: awardsearch@nsf.gov.
