Geology topics

Helene Le Mevel

Publications and source records attributed to Helene Le Mevel.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2026

The magmatic-hydrothermal system of the Three Sisters volcanic cluster, Oregon, imaged from field gravity measurements

From 2019 to 2024, gravity surveys were conducted at the Three Sisters volcanic cluster (TSVC), measuring 246 gravity sites using a spring relative gravimeter. We calculated the residual Bouguer anomaly and identified three main zones with negative anomalies, ranging from −4 to −8 mGal, located southwest and west of South Sister, within an area that has been uplifting for the past two decades. After inversion, we obtain a 3D density model of the subsurface and identify low-density bodies extending from the surface down to 3 km. We estimate a total of 15 km 3 of crustal bodies with density close to 2 g/cm 3 that could store up to ~5 km 3 of water, forming an extensive hydrothermal system beneath the TSVC. We explore the possible combinations of melt compositions and temperatures that could create a bulk density close to our reference crustal density (2.5 g/cm 3 ) using MELTS thermodynamic simulations. Our results indicate that a magmatic mush with as little as 15% partial melt of bulk rhyolitic composition or as much as 52%–57% partial melt of a bulk dacitic composition could be stored in a magmatic system under TSVC without generating a detectable gravity anomaly. Episodic magma injections at the base of the magmatic system, such as the 1998–2000 intrusion at ~6 km depth, would bring heat and gas to the hydrothermal system while maintaining a low melt fraction in the magmatic mush, as imaged at other Cascade volcanoes.

Oregon↗

USGS2022

Earthquakes indicated stress field change during the 2006 unrest of Augustine Volcano, Alaska

To examine controls on the local stress field at Augustine Volcano, Alaska, before its 2006 eruption, we calculated fault plane solutions for volcano-tectonic earthquakes from 2002 to 2006. The P-axis orientation was first aligned to the regional maximum compression (NW) and then rotated by about 90° (perpendicular to the dike alignment) after the onset of surface deformation in mid-August 2005. Using 3D finite element models, we systematically evaluated the effects of tectonic stresses, volcanic edifice densities, and dike overpressures on the local stress field orientation. Combining data and models to generate “phase diagrams” of different stress controls by these competing effects, we argue that moderate tectonic stress of 2–3 MPa at 600 m above sea level slightly exceeded the edifice loading before the precursory deformation and was then overprinted by a local stress field from dike opening with an overpressure of ~15 MPa.

Alaska↗

USGS2014

Dynamics of a large, restless, rhyolitic magma system at Laguna del Maule, southern Andes, Chile

Explosive eruptions of large-volume rhyolitic magma systems are common in the geologic record and pose a major potential threat to society. Unlike other natural hazards, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, a large rhyolitic volcano may provide warning signs long before a caldera-forming eruption occurs. Yet, these signs—and what they imply about magma-crust dynamics—are not well known. This is because we have learned how these systems form, grow, and erupt mainly from the study of ash flow tuffs deposited tens to hundreds of thousands of years ago or more, or from the geophysical imaging of the unerupted portions of the reservoirs beneath the associated calderas. The Laguna del Maule Volcanic Field, Chile, includes an unusually large and recent concentration of silicic eruptions. Since 2007, the crust there has been inflating at an astonishing rate of at least 25 cm/yr. This unique opportunity to investigate the dynamics of a large rhyolitic system while magma migration, reservoir growth, and crustal deformation are actively under way is stimulating a new international collaboration. Findings thus far lead to the hypothesis that the silicic vents have tapped an extensive layer of crystal-poor, rhyolitic melt that began to form atop a magmatic mush zone that was established by ca. 20 ka with a renewed phase of rhyolite eruptions during the Holocene. Modeling of surface deformation, magnetotelluric data, and gravity changes suggest that magma is currently intruding at a depth of ~5 km. The next phase of this investigation seeks to enlarge the sets of geophysical and geochemical data and to use these observations in numerical models of system dynamics.

Laguna del Maule Volcanic Field↗