Interpretation of Rayleigh-wave ellipticity observed with multicomponent passive seismic interferometry at Hekla Volcano, Iceland

The 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull has drawn increased attention to Iceland's Eastern Volcanic Zone (EVZ) due to the threat it poses to the heavily used air-traffic corridors of the northern Atlantic Ocean. Within the EVZ, Hekla is historically one of the most active volcanoes and has exhibited a decadal eruption pattern for the past 40 years. Hekla most recently erupted in 2000 and is thus ripe for another decadal eruption. Because Hekla is generally aseismic, except for a brief time period (hours) leading up to an eruption, monitoring has previously depended on precursory deformation signals (Linde et al., 1993). As a result, seismic tomography of the internal structure of the volcano using phase arrivals of local earthquakes is not possible. Motivated by Hekla's practically aseismic behavior in inter-eruptive periods, we installed a temporary network of four broadband seismometers around the volcanic edifice in late August 2010 with the intention of investigating the applicability of passive seismic interferometry (PSI) for imaging and monitoring the volcano. © 2011 Society of Exploration Geophysicists.