Solid Earth, 6, 1207–1229, 2015 www.solid-earth.net/6/1207/2015/ doi:10.5194/se-6-1207-2015 © Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Poroelastic responses of confined aquifers to subsurface strain and their use for volcano monitoring K. Strehlow, J. H. Gottsmann, and A. C. Rust School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK Correspondence to: K. Strehlow (
[email protected]) Received: 11 May 2015 – Published in Solid Earth Discuss.: 9 June 2015 Revised: 18 September 2015 – Accepted: 21 October 2015 – Published: 10 November 2015 Abstract. Well water level changes associated with mag- aquifer and are commonly neglected in analytical models. matic unrest can be interpreted as a result of pore pressure These findings highlight the need for numerical models for changes in the aquifer due to crustal deformation, and so the interpretation of observed well level signals. However, could provide constraints on the subsurface processes caus- simulated water table changes do indeed mirror volumetric ing this strain. We use finite element analysis to demonstrate strain, and wells are therefore a valuable addition to monitor- the response of aquifers to volumetric strain induced by pres- ing systems that could provide important insights into pre- surized magma reservoirs. Two different aquifers are invoked eruptive dynamics. – an unconsolidated pyroclastic deposit and a vesicular lava flow – and embedded in an impermeable crust, overlying a magma chamber. The time-dependent, fully coupled models simulate crustal deformation accompanying chamber pres- 1 Introduction surization and the resulting hydraulic head changes as well as flow through the porous aquifer, i.e.