A Seismic Nodal Deployment to Understand Magmatic Structure in the Vicinity of the Pāhala Earthquake Swarm

Abstract

In Summer–Fall 2022, 80 three-component SmartSolo IGU-BD3C-5 nodal seismometers were deployed surrounding the Pāhala seismic swarm on the Island of Hawai‘i, with the goal of improving seismicity catalogs and seismic velocity images of the crust and upper mantle in this region. The Pāhala swarm, located south of Mauna Loa and Kīlauea, has been the site of a multiyear sustained swarm of seismicity at the depths of ∼25–40 km, with order of magnitude increases in rate in 2015, and then again in 2019. This seismicity is possibly related to the input of magma from the mantle plume below, which may then be subsequently transported to volcanic edifices. However, these processes remain enigmatic, in part due to a lack of precise earthquake locations and seismic velocity models in this region. Here, we provide an overview of the deployment, an assessment of the quality of the collected data, and discuss the viability of the data set for local earthquake relocation, tomography, and teleseismic receiver functions. Through comparisons with proximal permanent broadband and short-period instruments, we find that the nodes produce high-quality data, particularly at periods shorter than 5 s, although we find, document, and correct discrepancies with the gain and polarities of the instruments. We successfully record signals from teleseismic earthquakes, even at periods longer than 5 s (the corner of the flat response of the nodes). We also record local earthquakes, including details related to source characteristics. This indicates that the data are likely to prove useful for investigations using both local and teleseismic earthquake signals to better understand the connections between the deep and shallow magmatic systems of Hawai‘i. Although this deployment provides a snapshot in time, its success may provide a useful benchmark for future studies as the volcanic systems of Hawai‘i continue to evolve in the future.