10:45 AM - 11:00 AM
[S01-4-02] New insights into volcano-tectonic seismicity patterns in the Virunga Volcanic Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, from a new broadband seismic network (KivuSNet)
The Kivu Basin is located in the bordering region of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, in the Western branch of the East African Rift. Here the active volcanoes Nyamulagira (the most active in Africa) and Nyiragongo (host to the largest persistent lava lake on Earth) threaten the city of Goma and neighbouring agglomerations. For many years already, urbanisation in that region undergoes sustained rapid growth, and the region counts 1 million inhabitants today. In 1977 and 2002, eruptions of Nyiragongo caused major disasters. Destructive earthquakes can also affect the region, as was the case in 2002 in Kalehe (Mw 6.2) along the western shore of Lake Kivu, or in 2008 in Bukavu (Mw 5.9), south of Lake Kivu. Until recently, modern seismic monitoring infrastructure was lacking in the area, leaving many aspects about the volcanic activity and seismicity up to speculations.
In the frame of several Belgo-Luxembourgish collaborative research projects (the most recent one being RESIST: “Remote Sensing and In Situ Tracking of geohazards", funded by the Belgian Science Policy and Luxembourg National Research Fund), we deployed the first dense real-time telemetered broadband seismic network in the region, with the first two stations in 2012 and 2013. It is now a network of 15 stations and still under continuous development. Many KivuSNet stations are co-located with GNSS KivuGNet stations, and three KivuSNet sites are in addition equipped with infrasound arrays.
We present an introduction to the key features of the network and first scientific results, including unprecedented insights into tectonic and volcanic seismicity patterns as well as the continuous tracking of tremor sources and implications for magma migration patterns of the past 2 ½ years. KivuSNet opens a new window for the state of knowledge on the seismic and volcanic activity in this highly threatened region and represents an indispensable tool for monitoring operations of the Goma Volcano Observatory.
In the frame of several Belgo-Luxembourgish collaborative research projects (the most recent one being RESIST: “Remote Sensing and In Situ Tracking of geohazards", funded by the Belgian Science Policy and Luxembourg National Research Fund), we deployed the first dense real-time telemetered broadband seismic network in the region, with the first two stations in 2012 and 2013. It is now a network of 15 stations and still under continuous development. Many KivuSNet stations are co-located with GNSS KivuGNet stations, and three KivuSNet sites are in addition equipped with infrasound arrays.
We present an introduction to the key features of the network and first scientific results, including unprecedented insights into tectonic and volcanic seismicity patterns as well as the continuous tracking of tremor sources and implications for magma migration patterns of the past 2 ½ years. KivuSNet opens a new window for the state of knowledge on the seismic and volcanic activity in this highly threatened region and represents an indispensable tool for monitoring operations of the Goma Volcano Observatory.