Comment on 'Volume of magma accumulation or withdrawal estimated from surface uplift or subsidence, with application to the 1960 collapse of Kilauea volcano' by P.T. Delaney and D.F. McTigue

In volcanoes that store a significant quantity of magma within a subsurface summit reservoir, such as Kilauea, bulk compression of stored magma is an important mode of deformation. Accumulation of magma is also accompanied by crustal deformation, usually manifested at the surface as uplift. These two modes of deformation - bulk compression of resident magma and deformation of the volcanic edifice - act in concert to accommodate the volume of newly added magma. During deflation, the processes reverse and reservoir magma undergoes bulk decompression, the chamber contracts, and the ground surface subsides. Because magma compression plays a role in creating subsurface volume of accommodate magma, magma budget estimates that are derived from surface uplift observations without consideration of magma compression will underestimate actual magma volume changes.