Modelling ground deformation caused by oscillating overpressure in a dyke conduit at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat

Abstract

A dyke conduit has been shown to be a realistic model for the shallow magmatic feeder system for the dome forming eruption at Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat. Here we use a three-dimensional Finite Element model to examine the ground deformation that can be expected due to the pressurization of a dyke conduit. We find that the generated deformation has a bilateral symmetry with nearly no displacement in the direction of dyke strike, and a maximal ground deformation about 1 km away from the vent in the perpendicular direction. Resultant surface deformation is mainly triggered by the upper part of the feeder system, where the dyke opens into a cylindrical conduit. We apply our deformation model to investigate tilt data collected in 1997 in order to infer the orientation of the dyke. We obtain a best-fit for a NNW–SSE trending dyke, which matches observations of the ground displacement field obtained by differential GPS and the alignment of main structural geologic features of southern Montserrat.