#ambient noise interferometry

Ocean swells are constantly beating on the ocean floor. This nonstop drumming creates continuous signals that travel through Earth and recorded on seismometers around the globe, including here in Hawai‘i; changes in the speed of these ocean noise signals can give us clues about volcanic activity.

Data from 115 seismic nodes deployed in late June across the East Rift Zone of the Big Island’s Kīlauea volcano, fortuitously before significant unrest began, will be used to image the location and volume of magma within the region at a level of detail not previously possible.