Precursory earthquakes of the 1943 eruption of Paricutin volcano, Michoacan, Mexico

doi:10.1016/0377-0273(90)90021-7

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research

Volume 44, Issues 3–4, 30 December 1990, Pages 265-281

https://doi.org/10.1016/0377-0273(90)90021-7 Get rights and content

Abstract

Paricutin volcano is a monogenetic volcano whose birth and growth were observed by modern volcanological techniques. At the time of its birth in 1943, the seismic activity in central Mexico was mainly recorded by the Wiechert seismographs at the Tacubaya seismic station in Mexico City about 320 km east of the volcano area. In this paper we aim to find any characteristics of precursory earthquakes of the monogenetic eruption. Though there are limits in the available information, such as imprecise location of hypocenters and lack of earthquake data with magnitudes under 3.0.

The available data show that the first precursory earthquake occurred on January 7, 1943, with a magnitude of 4.4. Subsequently, 21 earthquakes ranging from 3.2 to 4.5 in magnitude occurred before the outbreak of the eruption on February 20. The (S - P) durations of the precursory earthquakes do not show any systematic changes within the observational errors. The hypocenters were rather shallow and did not migrate.

The precursory earthquakes had a characteristic tectonic signature, which was retained through the whole period of activity. However, the spectra of the P-waves of the Paricutin earthquakes show minor differences from those of tectonic earthquakes. This fact helped in the identification of Paricutin earthquakes. Except for the first shock, the maximum earthquake magnitudes show an increasing tendency with time towards the outbreak. The total seismic energy released by the precursory earthquakes amounted to 2 × 10¹⁹ ergs. Considering that statistically there is a threshold of cumulative seismic energy release (10^17–18ergs) by precursory earthquakes in polygenetic volcanoes erupting after long quiescence, the above cumulative energy is exceptionally large. This suggests that a monogenetic volcano may need much more energy to clear the way of magma passage to the earth surface than a polygenetic one.

The magma ascent before the outbreak of Paricutin volcano is interpretable by a model of magma-filled crack formation proposed by Weertman, based on seismic data and other field observations.

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Blue Lake crater (<3 ka) is monogenetic volcano that produced one of the youngest eruptions in the central Oregon Cascades. Understanding monogenetic volcano behavior – from storage through eruption – is imperative in planning for future eruptions. Here we combine physical volcanology and geochemistry to determine the pre-eruptive storage conditions, ascent rate, eruption style, and deposit distribution of this young eruption. We find that the eruption of Blue Lake was initially phreatomagmatic, producing lithic-rich fall deposits and thin surge deposits and excavating the maar crater, before transitioning rapidly to a final voluminous magmatic-volatile driven explosive eruption. The mapped fall deposit has an estimated volume of 3.9 × 10⁷ m³ (2.2 × 10⁷ m³ DRE) which suggests a VEI of 3. Although similar in magnitude (as measured by fall deposit volume) to many other recent cinder cone eruptions in the Cascades, the Blue Lake crater eruption lacks an effusive phase. The absence of lava flows may reflect the lack of evidence for syn-eruptive magma storage at shallow levels. Indeed, corrected volatile contents of olivine-hosted melt inclusions (2.9–4.2 wt% H₂O, 910–1330 ppm CO₂) are strikingly uniform and indicate storage and crystallization at a restricted pressure range (average ~ 235 MPa), equating to a depth of ~8.6 km. Melt inclusion geochemistry indicates that the basaltic andesite magma cooled and crystallized ~25% during storage at this pressure. Crystals in the Blue Lake magma show evidence of mixing with, or entrainment in, a more evolved magma. Feldspar crystals have large An-rich cores (An_80–85) and abrupt An-poor rims (An_60–70); olivine crystals have large, broad cores (~Fo_82–84) and thin rims with lower Fo and NiO contents. Diffusion modeling of olivine zoning suggests that an intrusion event occurred ~10–60 days prior to eruption. Diffusive loss of H⁺ from melt inclusions was minimal (<1.3 wt% H₂O) during magma ascent, from which we calculate minimum ascent times from 235 MPa of <1 day. Many inclusions indicate ascent times of <3 h, corresponding to ascent rates of ~1 to >13 m/s. This study illustrates the pre-eruptive and eruptive complexities of monogenetic volcanoes and highlights the minimal warning that may precede future eruptions.
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Therefore, the Fries (1953) volumetric estimates for the cone (0.25 km3) and ash blanket (0.64 km3) might also be in error, as observed for the lava field, when the topographic correction is made. The eruption of Paricutin started on the 20th of February 1943 after several weeks of precursory seismicity (Yokoyama and De la Cruz-Reyna, 1990; McBirney et al., 1987). The first vent opened as a fissure crossing a flat area from which continuous low-magnitude pyroclastic activity rapidly produced a cinder cone during the first weeks (Foshag and González-Reyna, 1956).
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This is because, at higher permeabilities, topography drives deep convection, with unstable, evolving pressures and temperatures (Supporting Information Text S5 and Fig. S4). Further, dVTs have also been observed in calderas (large, basinlike depressions) such as Krafla, Iceland, and, although eruptions at monogenetic fields are rare, precursory volcano-tectonic earthquakes were observed before the 1943 Paricutin eruption (Yokoyama and De la Cruz-Reyna, 1990). Such observations suggest that topographic relief may be a secondary factor.
Distal volcano-tectonic (dVT) seismicity typically precedes eruption at long-dormant volcanoes by days to years. Precursory dVT seismicity may reflect magma-induced fluid-pressure pulses that intersect critically stressed faults. We explored this hypothesis using an open-source magmatic-hydrothermal code that simulates multiphase fluid and heat transport over the temperature range 0 to 1200 °C. We calculated fluid-pressure changes caused by a small (0.04 km³) intrusion and explored the effects of flow geometry (channelized vs. radial flow), magma devolatilization rates (0–15 kg/s), and intrusion depths (5 and 7.5 km, above and below the brittle-ductile transition). Magma and host-rock permeabilities were key controlling parameters and we tested a wide range of permeability (k) and permeability anisotropies (k_h/k_v), including k constant, k(z), k(T), and k(z, T, P) distributions, examining a total of ~ 1600 realizations to explore the relevant parameter space. Propagation of potentially causal pressure changes (ΔP ≥ 0.1 bars) to the mean dVT location (6 km lateral distance, 6 km depth) was favored by channelized fluid flow, high devolatilization rates, and permeabilities similar to those found in geothermal reservoirs (k ~ 10^− 16 to 10^− 13 m²). For channelized flow, magma-induced thermal pressurization alone can generate cases of ∆ P ≥ 0.1 bars for all permeabilities in the range 10^− 16 to 10^− 13 m², whereas in radial flow regimes thermal pressurization causes ∆ P < 0.1 bars for all permeabilities. Changes in distal fluid pressure occurred before proximal pressure changes given modest anisotropies (k_h/k_v ~ 10–100). Invoking k(z,T,P) and high, sustained devolatilization rates caused large dynamic fluctuations in k and P in the near-magma environment but had little effect on pressure changes at the distal dVT location. Intrusion below the brittle-ductile transition damps but does not prevent pressure transmission to the dVT site.
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Capture of rising magma by faults has been demonstrated theoretically (Gaffney et al., 2007) as well as in the field (Valentine and Krogh, 2006), and seems likely in regions of extension, such as the MGVF. If the 45 days of precursory seismic activity recorded at Parícutin (Yokoyama and de la Cruz-Reyna, 1990) records the time period of initial development of a shallow storage system, we can infer the amount of magma that may have been stored in the upper crust prior to the onset of eruption. Assuming a magma supply rate equivalent to the average mass eruption rate for Phase 1 (8 × 104 kg/s; Pioli et al., 2008), we calculate that ~0.1 km3 of magma could have accumulated in a dike and sill complex prior to the onset of eruptive activity (less that 10% of the total erupted volume of 1.3 km3; Fries, 1953).
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Precursory earthquakes of the 1943 eruption of Paricutin volcano, Michoacan, Mexico

Abstract

J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res.

J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res.

J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res.

A velocity model perpendicular to the Acapulco Trench based on RESMAC data

Geofis. Int.

Poisson-distributed patterns of explosive activity

Bull. Volcanol.

The development of the great Tolbachik fissure eruption in 1975 from seismological data

Investigaciones geologicas relativas al volcan Paricutin

Investigacion geofisicosismometrica del fenomeno volcanico

Interpretacion del fenomeno volcanico a la luz de la sismologia

Birth and development of Paricutin volcano

Geol. Surv. Bull.

Volumes and weights of pyroclastic material, lava, and water erupted by Paricutin volcano, Michoacan, Mexico

Trans. Am. Geophys. Union

Seismicity of the Earth

Seismic activity before and after the 1986 Izu-Ooshima eruption

Rep. Coord. Com. Pred. Volc. Erup.

The flow of water in an inclined channel of rectangular section

Philos. Mag.

Lava movement at Paricutin volcano, Mexico

Bull. Geol. Soc. Am.

The 1984 eruption of Mauna Loa volcano, Hawaii

EOS

Jorullo volcano, Michoacan, Mexico (1759–1774): The earliest stage of fractionation in calc-alkaline magmas

Contrib. Mineral. Petrol.

Paricutin re-examined: a classic example of crustal assimilation in calc-alkaline magma

Contrib. Mineral. Petrol.