Utilizing fiber -optic for measuring magma inputs with greater sensitivity

Icelandic scientists demonstrate together with foreign colleagues how to use low frequency marks in normal fiber -optic cable to map the magma movement in the crust of Reykjanes in higher Time resolution and measure less movements than previously possible methods such as GPS and satellite wave dialogue (INSAR).

This is the result of a new studywhich appears in the world -renowned science journal Science today.

This is a normal cable, the same kind of people who import the Internet into Icelandic homes.

This is stated in a notification from the University of Iceland.

Unprecedented low -frequency signal

Never before has a low -frequency signal of this kind found on conventional fiber optic cables associated with volcanic activity in the world. The signs in the fiber-optic have been used to measure deformation, comparable to what we know with GPS technology or with satellite images.

Elias Rafn Heimisson, a specialist at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland and one of the authors of the article, has been informed that the sensitivity of these measurements is greater than the traditional methods previously used.

Give a clearer picture of a dynamic tunnel

« The fiber-optic cable has more sensitivity than, for example, the GPS measurements. Mercury deposits that were previously not clear in metrics are now clearly evident, and real-time resolution allows us to monitor the formation of the magma tunnel almost as soon as it occurs. »

At the same time, it is noted that the method may be used for other types of deformation than those associated with earthquakes, landslides or other fire eruptions.

« This method can be used in conjunction with other deformation measurements to improve the models of dynamic processes and possibly also landslides or movements on the outcomes and perhaps more natural processes. »

The announcement states that when looking at the disasters at Grindavík, this new method has given a clearer picture of a magma tunnel under Svartsengi and the scenario after the November 2023 event, which led to cracking movements in Grindavík.

The result of the study is, according to Elias, that the event has partly determined the area of ​​voltage and formulated a subsequent insert.

Photo/Science/Minute-SCale Dynamics of Recurrent Dike Intrusions in Iceland with Fiber-Open Geodesy

Research Revolution of Earthquake Studies

Elias has been informed that in recent years fiber -optic used in so -called Das technology has been the hottest in earthquake.

He says it is, among other things, because it can be converted by a hundred kilometers of fiber -optic to about ten thousand earthquakes, which amount to how the cable expands or contracts.

However, there are still many things that people try to understand in connection with this data, how to interpret it and use in the traditional methods of earthquake, for example in the position of an earthquake.

Precisely for this reason, various foreign research groups have used this technology in Iceland around the events in Reykjanes, where great and interesting data can be collected in a short time.

A group from the University of Caltech in the United States has thus, together with Theodóri Gunnarsson, a Google employee in Iceland, a so-called interrogator-to-convert one to change one such fiber-optic cable into a quake, which runs along the South Coast Road through Grindavík.

Photo/Science/Minute-SCale Dynamics of Recurrent Dike Intrusions in Iceland with Fiber-Open Geodesy

Used to predict soda

« It turned out that the cable not only identified the traditional highlights of earthquakes but also a low frequency signal that at first was not easy to understand or know if it was real. In collaboration with Caltech, we created the first model to show that the signs could be explained as a deformation.

Now this signal is used by the Icelandic Meteorological Office to predict the eruption, where the cable sees the magma tunnel until other measuring instruments and helps to distinguish between the simple earthquake and the rhythm caused by a magma that is formed and could reach the surface. « 

Theodor and scientists from the University of Caltech are among the authors of the Science article, while Caltech is one of the ten leading universities in the world according to recognized international scale.

Photo/Science/Minute-SCale Dynamics of Recurrent Dike Intrusions in Iceland with Fiber-Open Geodesy

Added predictions of volcanic eruptions and risk assessment

Vala Hjörleifsdóttir, associate professor at the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Reykjavik, is one of the authors of the article. It is reported in the announcement that there is no need to discuss how important the discovery is in connection with the potential response to natural hazards, but it has been working on the development of these measurements to volcanic warnings.

The article states that low -frequency results from the fiber -optic measurements have shown nine magma and six of them have resulted in cracks.

Elias has been informed that the deformation models that utilize the low -frequency marks actually show the exact formation of the shot, with a volume increase of 15 to 22 minutes before the start of each eruption.

« The results show the possibility of using fiber -optic cables as a dense network of deformation meters and thus get in nearly real -time images of deformation processes below the Earth’s surface, in higher resolution than before.

In volcanic areas, low frequency signals can offer new insight into the development of dynamic processes, improve volcanic forecasts and at the same time improved risk assessment, « Elias said.

The main authors of the article are, as has been stated, scientists from Caltech and UI, but in addition to the article, scientists from RU and Google and a few multinational organizations are included.