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Seismic evidence for magma in the vicinity of Mt. Katmai, Alaska

August 1, 1991

P-wave traveltime delays of as much as 0.9 sec are consistently observed at one seismic station from local and regional earthquakes 70 to 150 km deep. This station is on the southwest flank of Mt. Trident, the most recently active volcano within Katmai National Park, Alaska. Delays from local shallow earthquakes are typically less than 0.3 sec, suggesting that most of the major delay results from anomalous material at depths of more than a few kilometers. This station is located near the center of a bowlshaped low in the Bouguer gravity field that is approximately 15 km in diameter and more than 25 mgals deep. These anomalies suggest, but do not prove, the presence of considerable amounts of magma in the shallow part of the crust that could have been the source for all magma erupted in the vicinity of Mt. Katmai and Mt. Trident this century.

Publication Year 1991
Title Seismic evidence for magma in the vicinity of Mt. Katmai, Alaska
DOI 10.1029/91GL01906
Authors Peter L. Ward, Andrew M. Pitt, Eliot Endo
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Geophysical Research Letters
Index ID 70243103
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse