A geoelectric model for the area of the Tolbachik eruption (named after the 50 year anniverary of the Institute of Volcanology and Seismology)

Abstract

We consider the methods and results of magnetotelluric sounding in the AMTS and MTS modifications. Audiomagnetotelluric sounding (AMTS) was carried out for the first time in the area of a recent Tolbachik eruption. The results from our analysis of the magnetotelluric parameters show that the geoelectric medium involving a regional fault can be fitted by a 2D inhomogeneous model. The longitudinal and transverse sounding curves were assumed as the leading elements for interpretation. A joint analysis of these curves and of pseudo-sections of impedance phases provides evidence of a geoelectric inhomogeneity in the area where the Naboko Vent is situated. A bimodal inversion of the AMTS curves yielded a geoelectric section that contains a conductive inhomogeneity that is possibly related to a fault that carried fluids up to the ground surface. Along with AMTS, we used MTS curves in a broader range to identify a crustal conductive anomaly at depths of 15–35 km. The data from AMTS, MTS, and other geological and geophysical information were used to develop a conceptual model for the area of study that characterizes a possible origin of the anomalous zones. We obtained approximate estimates of rock porosity in the fault zone that transported magma melts upward into the overlying rocks in the area of the Naboko Vent.