Remote Triggering of Icequakes at Mt. Erebus, Antarctica by Large Teleseismic Earthquakes

Recent studies have shown that the Antarctic cryosphere is sensitive to external disturbances such as tidal stresses or dynamic stresses from remote large earthquakes. In this study, we systematically examine evidence of remotely triggered microseismicity around Mount (Mt.) Erebus, an active high elevation stratovolcano located on Ross Island, Antarctica. We detect microearthquakes recorded by multiple stations from the Mt. Erebus Volcano Observatory Seismic Network one day before and after 43 large teleseismic earthquakes, and find that seven large earthquakes (including the 2010 M-w 8.8 Maule, Chile, and 2012 M-w 8.6 Indian Ocean events) triggered local seismicity on the volcano, with most triggered events occurring during the passage of the shorter-period Rayleigh waves. In addition, their waveforms and locations for the triggered events are different when comparing with seismic events arising from the persistent small-scale eruptions, but similar to other detected events before and after the main-shocks. Based on the waveform characteristics and their locations, we infer that these triggered events are likely shallow icequakes triggered by dilatational stress perturbations from teleseismic surface waves. We show that teleseismic earthquakes with higher peak dynamic stress changes are more capable of triggering icequakes at Mt. Erebus. We also find that the icequakes in this study are more likely to be triggered during the austral summer months. Our study motivates the continued monitoring of Mount Erebus with dense seismic instrumentation to better understand interactions between dynamic seismic triggering, crospheric processes, and volcanic activity.

Automated summary

Recent studies have shown that remote large earthquakes can trigger microseismic activity around Mount Erebus, with most events occurring during the passage of shorter-period Rayleigh waves. The triggered events are likely shallow icequakes triggered by dilatational stress perturbations from teleseismic surface waves, with higher peak dynamic stress changes in teleseismic earthquakes being more capable of triggering icequakes at the site.