Poor scaling between elastic energy release and eruption intensity at Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador

An important objective in volcanology is the quantification of eruption intensity through the study of elastic energy propagated into the atmosphere and ground. To better understand the relation between elastic wave radiation and eruptive activity we deployed seismic, acoustic, and video instrumentation at the active Tungurahua Volcano (Ecuador) in Nov.-Dec. of 2004. Our data show that plume expansion scales very poorly with both seismic and acoustic trace energy and only the initial amplitude of the acoustic signal is perhaps correlated with initial plume rise speeds. In general, the eventual size of Tungurahua eruption plumes does not appear to be controlled by elevated material accelerations within the conduit, which are primary influences on elastic energy radiation. This result has vital implications for volcano observatories, which are interested in using seismic and acoustic trace amplitudes as proxies for eruption magnitudes.