Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

NA

Muon Radiography allows to map the density of a volcanic cone. It is based on the measurement of the attenuation of the flux of muons present in the cosmic radiation on the ground. The MU-RAY project has developed an innovative detector designed for the muon radiography. The main features are the low electric power consumption, robustness and transportability, good spatial resolution and muon time of flight measurement. A 1 m2 detector prototype has been constructed. and collected data at Mt. Vesuvius for approximately 1 month in spring 2013. A second campaign of measurement has been performed at the Puy de Dˆome, France, in the last four months of 2013. In this article the principles of muon radiography, the MU-RAY detector and the first results from the collected data will be described.

The MU-RAY detector has been designed to perform muon radiography of volcanoes. The possible use on the field introduces several constraints. First the electric power consumption must be reduced to the minimum, so that the detector can be solar-powered. Moreover it must be robust and transportable, for what concerns the front-end electronics and data acquisition. A 1m2 prototype has been constructed and is taking data at Mt.Vesuvius. The detector consists of modules of 32 scintillator bars with wavelength shifting fibers and silicon photomultiplier read-out. A dedicated front-end electronics has been developed, based on the SPIROC ASIC. An introduction to muon radiography principles, the MU-RAY detector description and results obtained in laboratory will be presented.

Probabilistic Estimates of Seismic Hazard and Public Awareness in Japan

To visualize the behavior of erupting magma in volcanic conduits, we performed shock tube experiments on the ductile–brittle response of a viscoelastic medium to diffusion-driven bubble expansion. A sample of shear-thinning magma analogue is saturated by gas Ar under high pressure. On rapid decompression, Ar supersaturation causes bubbles to nucleate, grow, and coalesce in the sample, forcing it to expand, flow, and fracture. Experimental variables include saturation pressure and duration, and shape and lubrication of the flow path. Bubble growth in the experiments controls both flow and fracturing, and is consistent with physical models of magma vesiculation. Two types of fractures are observed: i) sharp fractures along the uppermost rim of the sample, and ii) fractures pervasively diffused throughout the sample. Rim fractures open when shear stress accumulates and strain rate is highest at the margin of the flow (a process already inferred from observations and models to occur in magma). Pervasive fractures originate when wall-friction retards expansion of the sample, causing pressure to build-up in the bubbles. When bubble pressure overcomes wall-friction and the tensile strength of the porous sample, fractures open with a range of morphologies. Both types of fracture open normally to flow direction, and both may heal as the flow proceeds. These experiments also illustrate how the development of pervasive fractures allows exsolving gas to escape from the sample before the generation of a permeable network via other processes, e.g., bubble coalescence. This is an observation that potentially impact the degassing of magma and the transition between explosive and effusive eruptions.