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Harmonic excitation of mantle Rayleigh waves by the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines

Kanamori, Hiroo and Mori, Jim (1992) Harmonic excitation of mantle Rayleigh waves by the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo, Philippines. Geophysical Research Letters, 19 (7). pp. 721-724. ISSN 0094-8276. doi:10.1029/92GL00258. https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20141028-091727493

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Abstract

An unusually long (at least two hours) seismic wave train having periods of about 230 sec was recorded at many worldwide seismic stations during the major eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines on June 15, 1991. This wave train exhibits two sharp spectral peaks at 228 and 270 sec. The group velocity, phase velocity, and the particle motion of this wave train indicate that it is a Rayleigh wave. The most probable excitation mechanism is acoustic coupling of atmospheric oscillations that were set off by continuous thermal energy flux from the volcano. The two spectral peaks correspond to the characteristic periods of acoustic and gravity modes of the Earth's atmosphere. The magnitude of the vertical single force equivalent to the acoustic coupling is 1.6×10^(17) dynes over a frequency band of 0.003 to 0.01 Hz. The results suggest the possibility of using acoustically coupled Rayleigh waves for detection, characterization and quantification of volcanic eruptions. Acoustic coupling of the atmosphere and the solid Earth provides a unique seismic source with long duration.


Item Type:Article
Related URLs:
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/92GL00258DOIArticle
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/92GL00258/abstractPublisherArticle
ORCID:
AuthorORCID
Kanamori, Hiroo0000-0001-8219-9428
Additional Information:© 1992 American Geophysical Union. Received December 26, 1991; accepted January 31, 1992. During the course of this study, we greatly benefitted from discussions with Don Anderson, Tom Heaton, Andy Ingersoll, and David Harkrider. The seismograms used in this study were made available from the stations of IRIS, TERRAscope, the Earthquake Research Institute of the University of Tokyo (by courtesy of Kiyoshi Takano), and IDA/IRIS (by courtesy of the University of California, San Diego). Satellite imagery was provided by George Stephens and Mike Matson of NOAA. This research was partially supported by a grant from the L. K. Whittier Foundation. Contribution 5105, Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California.
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L. K. Whittier FoundationUNSPECIFIED
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Caltech Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences5105
Issue or Number:7
DOI:10.1029/92GL00258
Record Number:CaltechAUTHORS:20141028-091727493
Persistent URL:https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20141028-091727493
Usage Policy:No commercial reproduction, distribution, display or performance rights in this work are provided.
ID Code:50914
Collection:CaltechAUTHORS
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Deposited On:28 Oct 2014 19:04
Last Modified:10 Nov 2021 19:02

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