Abstract
Magma intrusion usually causes seismicity and deformation in the surrounding rock and often leads to eruptions. A swarm of volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes associated with rapid dike intrusion in hours occurred beneath Sakurajima volcano on August 15, 2015. We determined the hypocenters and focal mechanisms of the VT earthquake swarm. The distributions of pressure (P)- and tension (T)-axes of the azimuths of the mechanisms are also obtained. The results indicate spatiotemporal changes of the distributions of the hypocenters and P- and T-axes. The hypocenters are distributed at depths of 0.3–1 km and 7:00–10:30 JST, and are located at depths of 0.3–3 km and 10:30–12:00 during which the seismic activity is the largest. At 12:00–24:00, the hypocenters are distributed in shallow and deep clusters at depths of 0.2–1 km and 1.5–3.5 km, respectively. The dike induced rapid ground deformation and is located between the shallow and deep clusters. The strike and opening directions of the dike are parallel to the NE–SW and NW–SE directions, respectively, corresponding to the regional maximum and minimum compression stress. The T-axes of the shallow cluster are distributed parallel to the opening direction of the dike. The P-axes of the deep cluster exhibit a pattern corresponding to the NE–SW direction and the T-axes are distributed in the NW–SE direction. In contrast, a 90° rotated pattern of strike-slip faulting is also observed at the deep cluster at 12:00–24:00, where the P-axes are distributed in the NW–SE direction and the T-axes are distributed in the NE–SW direction. This reflects the change in the stress field due to the dike inflation during the earthquake generation, and indicates that the alteration of stress in the vicinity of the dike due to the dike inflation and VT earthquakes are induced by the differential stress exceeding the brittle fracture strength of the rock. Future seismic and deformation observations in volcanoes will verify whether the spatiotemporal changes of the hypocenters and focal mechanism shown by this study are unique features of rapid dike intrusion.
Introduction
Magma rises or laterally moves and is accumulated in the crust or within a volcano edifice. This causes stress in the surrounding rock, leading to its deformation. Ground deformation occurs when the deformation extends to the surface. When the stress exceeds the fracture strength of the rock, or magma moves in cracks or conduits, fracturing or oscillation occur and generate an earthquake, that is, a volcanic earthquake. The frequency and duration of seismic ground motions of volcanic earthquakes vary widely; predominantly, volcano-tectonic (VT) earthquakes, low-frequency earthquakes, and volcanic tremors occur (e.g., ; ; ). VT earthquakes are ordinary earthquakes that occur in brittle rock within a volcanic edifice or in the crust beneath it. They are characterized by sharp onsets of P- and S-waves, reflected by broad spectra extending up to 15 Hz (e.g., ; ; ). They are called VT earthquakes because of their close similarity to tectonic earthquakes, although the stresses that induce them are derived from volcanic processes rather than from large-scale tectonic movements (e.g., ; ; ). The VT earthquakes, which sometimes become seismic swarms, have been observed in many volcanic regions. Therefore, in many cases, seismic analyses have been applied to determine the hypocenters and focal mechanisms (e.g., ). Compared with low-frequency earthquakes and volcanic tremors, VT earthquakes allow more precise hypocenter determination, and it is easier to determine their source mechanisms. Moreover, tracking the spatiotemporal changes in hypocenters and source mechanisms provides more information that could facilitate the estimation of the behavior of magma intrusion.
Magma transport in the crust is closely related to the magnitude and orientation of crustal stresses. Differential stresses in the crust are due to large-scale tectonic movements. Dikes represent the most natural means for magma transport at depth in the crust. The regional stress field around a volcano affects the position and orientation of a dike (; ). Dikes preferentially intrude in the plane perpendicular to the direction of the minimum compressive stress. For dikes to propagate and inflate, magma must exert sufficient stress at the dike tip to overcome the fracture strength of the rock. It is well known that dike intrusions are frequently associated with VT earthquake swarms (e.g., ; ). They occur ahead of the dike tip (; ; ; ; ; ; ), and in regions adjacent to dike walls (e.g., ; ; ; ; ; ). Following the development of new techniques for seismic data analysis in the recent two decades, hypocenters can be more accurately determined and the focal mechanisms of more events can be estimated, yielding more detailed discussions of dike intrusion processes and the stress field change corresponding to the spatiotemporal changes of the hypocenters and focal mechanisms of VT events (e.g., ; ; ; ; ).
The studies described above were targeted at slow dike intrusions, lasting from several weeks to several months. For example, the 1998 earthquakes swarm off the east coast of Izu Peninsula, Japan was induced by a dike intruding for two weeks (). Dike intrusions sporadically occurred and lasted several weeks from 2005 to 2010 in the Manda Harare-Dabbahu Rift, Afar, Ethiopia (; ). Episodes of dike intrusions lasting a few weeks occurred during the Bárðarbunga-Holuhraun rifting event from August 2014 to January 2015 (). The dike intrusion at Miyakejima-Kozushima-Niijima, Japan began on June 26, 2000 and continued until September 2000 (; ; ). On the other hand, dike intrusions often occurred in short time period, hours to days, in basaltic volcanoes such as Kilauea’s East Rift Zone in January 1983 () and September 1999 (), and the November 1986 eruption of Izu-Oshima ().
Magma intrusion rate is a key parameter to understand unrest and its possible outcome, from non-eruptive unrest to phreatic explosions or explosive magmatic eruptions (). For example, rapid magma intrusion often leads to explosive eruptions (). Explosive eruptions are dominant at andesite volcanoes and crucial for risk mitigation, since many people live in the neighborhoods. Rapid dike intrusions cause pronounced earthquake swarm and deformation in short time periods. In these cases, it is important to obtain hypocenters and focal mechanisms to elucidate any induced spatiotemporal stress change.
On August 15, 2015, a VT earthquake swarm occurred beneath Sakurajima volcano, Japan; at the same time, rapid and significant ground deformation was observed (). However, no distinct explosive eruption occurred within weeks after the VT earthquake swarm (). Analysis of the ground deformation associated with the VT earthquake swarm revealed the presence of an inflating dike with the NE–SW strike direction and the NW–SE opening direction at a depth of 1–2 km below the sea level beneath the summit region of Sakurajima, suggesting shallow magma intrusion. The dike is obtained based on GNSS displacement data, tilts and strains (), and 3-D deformation data from interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) images (). However, the intrusion process estimated from the ground deformation lacks a time resolution. Conversely, earthquakes reflect the stress release of rock, that is, the occurrence of earthquakes is sensitive to the temporal change in stress. The advantage of using earthquakes over deformation is that the time resolution is higher. Therefore, the analysis of the VT earthquake swarm allows tracing high-resolution spatiotemporal changes in the stress exerted by dike emplacement on the surrounding rock.
In the present study, we determine the hypocenters and focal mechanisms of the VT earthquake swarm that occurred on August 15, 2015 beneath Sakurajima volcano. We clarify the spatiotemporal changes of the hypocenter and focal mechanisms of the VT earthquake swarm induced by rapid dike intrusion (one day). We then reveal the inflation process of the dike that penetrated the shallow depth beneath Sakurajima volcano. Finally, we discuss the generation of the VT earthquake swarm induced by dike propagation from the viewpoint of the brittle fracture strength of the crustal rock, to evaluate any difference between faster and slowing emplacing dikes.
Geological, Geophysical Settings, and Volcanic Activity of Sakurajima
Sakurajima (Cherry Island in English) is an andesitic composite volcano located on the southern edge of the Aira caldera, southern Kyuhsu, Japan (Figure 1). In Kyushu, active volcanism results from the subduction of the Philippine Sea plate (PSP) beneath the Eurasian plate (EUP) and appears to be linked to back-arc extension. The edifice of Sakurajima started to develop 26,000 years ago and is now composed of two overlapping stratovolcanoes: the older Kita-dake and younger Minami-dake (; ; ). Eruptive activity over the last 4500 years has mainly occurred at Minami-dake, which has produced Vulcanian explosions and continuous venting of ash clouds almost daily since 1955, making it Japan’s most active volcano. Within the last six centuries, the volcano has experienced three periods of repeated Plinian eruptions of VEI 4–5 (Volcanic Explosivity Index) accompanied with voluminous lava effusion, that is, the Bunmei (1471–1476 AD), Anei (1779–1782 AD), and Taisho (1914–1915 AD) eruptions. The latter was the largest eruption in Japan in the 20th century. Initially an island, the Sakurajima volcano is now connected to the Osumi Peninsula via a narrow isthmus formed by a lava flow that was generated during the Taisho eruption. Before the beginning of the Taisho eruption, a volcanic earthquake swarm, including many felt earthquakes, was observed at the Kagoshima Weather Observatory (Figure 1) using a Gray–Milne seismometer (). It began three days prior to the onset of the Taisho eruption on January 12, 1914 (; ). Eight hours after the onset, a large earthquake with an M = 7.0 (Sakurajima earthquake) occurred in the southwestern part of the Sakurajima volcano (). The Taisho eruption was accompanied by ∼1 m subsidence of the caldera floor (; ; ). Since then, the caldera has been inflating gradually. Afterward, subsidence occurred during the Showa eruption (lava flow, 1946 AD). Two main pressure sources are responsible for the recent geodetic deformation: the main source is located beneath the Aira caldera ∼10 km below sea level () and a supplementary source is located at a depth of 4–6 km beneath the summit (). The current inflation of the Aira caldera is the result of magma accumulation at rates faster than current eruption rates, resulting in an uplift that approaches the pre-1914 level, increasing the risk of a new strong explosive event (). On August 15, 2015, rapid expansive ground deformation occurred in Sakurajima associated with an intense VT earthquake swarm (). The latest earthquake swarm in Sakurajima occurred on May 29, 1968, including several felt earthquakes, with an M = 4 (). reported that the temporal changes in the frequency of Vulcanian explosions and focal mechanisms of VT earthquakes are correlated. Strike-slip-type mechanisms predominate during calm periods when the frequency is low, while normal fault-type mechanisms predominate in the beginning of the active eruptive period when the number of the events begin to increase toward the maximum. Subsequently, strike-slip-type mechanisms become dominant again with the decrease in frequency. The changes in the focal mechanisms prior to eruptive activity suggest that the crustal stress field varies according to magma supply.
FIGURE 1
The Kyushyu–Ryukyu Arc is a NE–SW-trending island arc that connects southwestern Japan with Taiwan (Figure 1). An active back-arc opening of the Okinawa Trough (OT) is located along the arc and affects the crustal stress field in the southern Kyushu and Ryukyu region (Figure 1). Based on geodetic and seismic analyses, NW–SE extension and NE–SW compression dominate in southern Kyushu (
Data
Figure 1 shows the locations of Sakurajima volcano and seismic stations used in the present study. Each seismic station is equipped with a three-component short-period seismograph (sensitivity of 200 V/m/s) with a natural period of 1 s or a broadband seismograph (sensitivity of 1500 V/m/s). Two sets of water tube tiltmeters and extension meters (one directed toward Minami-dake crater and the other directed perpendicular to the crater) and a short-period seismograph are located in an underground tunnel, station AR1. The underground tunnel has a length of 283 m and is used to monitor the volcanic activity of Sakurajima. The outputs of the seismographs are digitized at 100 or 200 Hz by a 24-bit analog-to-digital converter and the data are transmitted to the Sakurajima Volcano Research Center using a wired virtual private network or wireless local area network and stored as continuous seismic waveform data.
Figure 2 shows the seismic records of a vertical component of the station AR1 during the swarm activity of August 15, 2015. The hourly occurrences of earthquakes with velocity amplitudes ≥10 μm/s at the station AR1 are shown in Figure 3. The VT earthquake swarm began at 7:05 Japan Standard Time (JST) and the occurrence frequency increased between 8:00 and 10:00 JST. A felt earthquake with an M = 2 occurred in Sakurajima at 10:47 JST. Subsequently, the occurrence frequency per hour decreased after the peak at 11:00–12:00 JST and another felt earthquake with an M = 2 occurred at 14:46 JST. In total, 887 VT earthquakes were observed on August 15, 2015 (
FIGURE 2

Continuous seismogram of the vertical component of a short-period seismometer at station AR1 recorded from 6 AM on August 15 to 6 AM on August 16, 2015 (Japan Standard Time, JST).
FIGURE 3

Hourly volcano-tectonic earthquake occurrences from 6:00 to 23:59 JST on August 15, 2015.
Methods
Hypocenter Determination
We selected VT earthquakes to determine their hypocenters using the amplitude ratio of short-term average (STA) and long-term average (LTA) from continuous waveform records. The time window lengths for the calculations of the STA and LTA were 0.3 s and 60 s, respectively. The thresholds for the earthquake detections were STA/LTA ≧ 5 at the ARIN, HIK, KOM, HAR, KUR, KAB, V SKA2, V.SFT2, V.SKRC, and V.SKRD stations. The arival times of the P- and S-waves of the selected earthquakes were visually determined. The hypocenters were determined using the P- and S-wave arrival times recorded at more than eight and six stations, respectively. The seismic stations, except for station KOM, at which both the P- and S-wave arrival times were ≥200 were used for location procedures. Figure 1 shows the locations of the selected seismic stations. The hypocenters were determined based on the method of
Hypocenter Relocation With the Double-Difference Method
We used the double-difference (DD) method (
Estimation of Focal Mechanisms
To improve the reliability of focal mechanism solutions, we estimated the focal mechanisms using the amplitude ratios of P- and S-waves as well as the P-wave polarities according to the method of
Results
Cross-Correlation Analysis of VT Earthquake Waveforms
We calculated the cross-correlation coefficients of the waveforms of the VT earthquakes that occurred on August 15, 2015, based on the total number of events for which P-wave arrival times were measured at station HIK. The 2–8 Hz bandpass-filtered waveforms were used to calculate the cross-correlation coefficients in a time window of 4 s including the initial P-wave motion. Figure 4A shows the occurrence times of the earthquakes with correlation coefficients ≥0.7. The record of the water tube tiltmeter at station AR1 directed toward Miami-dake is shown in Figure 4B for comparison. The tilt change began at ∼8:00 JST and its rate increased before 9:00 JST. The tilt change rate decreased gradually from 9:00–10:30 JST and then began to increase rapidly. The increase in the tilt change rate continued until 12:00 JST. Subsequently, the tilt change rate decreased gradually. Event clusters with correlation coefficients ≥0.7 can be observed in the following time periods: 7:00–9:00, 9:00–10:30, 10:30–12:00, and 12:00–24:00 JST (Figure 4A). Event clusters are concentrated in the 10:30–12:00 JST time period. Moreover, the time boundaries corresponding to the clusters correspond with the time at which the tilt change is inflected. Therefore, the temporal change in the hypocenters of the VT swarm can be divided into four time periods: A: 7:00–9:00, B: 9:00–10:30, C: 10:30–12:00, and D: 12:00–24:00.
FIGURE 4

(A) Occurrence times of the earthquakes with cross-correlation coefficients of ≥0.7 (black circle) and (B) tilt change at the station AR1 (red line). The tiltmeter is directed toward the Minami-dake (MD) crater. The lines indicate 9:00, 10:30, and 12:00 JST on August 15, 2015. The letters A, B, C, and D show time periods as defined in this study.
Evaluation of Double-Difference Relocation
By using STA/LTA, as described in DATA 257 events are extracted from continuous seismograms for the determination of the hypocenters. We carefully measured the arrival times of P- and S-waves. The reading accuracies of the arrival times of P- and S-waves are higher than 0.05 s (Supplementary Figure S1). Subsequently, the hypocenters of 242 events are determined with P arrival times of eight or more and S arrival times of six or more. Twenty-two of the events are air quakes whose hypocenters are located higher than any stations in Sakurajima. We excluded such air quakes and relocated the hypocenters using the DD method. In total, out of the numbers of DD data pairs used for the hypocenter relocation, the numbers of DD catalog data pairs derived from reading arrival times are 46,696 and 39,888 for P- and S-waves, respectively. Conversely, the numbers of DD data pairs derived from cross-correlation are 12,484 and 12,274 for P- and S-waves, respectively. The final root-mean-square residuals of the DD data after 25 iterations are 58% and 26% of the initial residuals for the recorded and cross-correlated data, respectively. In total, 204 hypocenters were relocated using the DD method. Figure 5 shows the hourly frequencies of the relocated hypocenters. The hourly frequency of the relocated hypocenters is >10 from 9:00 to 14:00 JST, facilitating the discussion of the temporal change of the hypocenter distribution for the four time periods from A to D.
FIGURE 5

Histogram of the number of VT earthquakes (gray bars, right axis;
To assess the uncertainty of the relative hypocenter locations determined using the DD method, we applied the bootstrap resampling method (
FIGURE 6

Examples of the hypocenter distributions obtained by the bootstrap resampling method. Red cross marks and blue ellipses represent the hypocenters and the 95% confidence interval ellipses, respectively. (A) and (B) show the results for the event on 7:41 JST with M = 0.2. (C) and (D) show the results for the event on 13:03 JST with M = 1.1. (E) and (F) show the results for the event on 15:17 JST with M = 1.0. (A) (C), and (E) show the results for horizontal planes. (B) (D), and (F) show the results for NS to vertical cross sections. It is worth noting how the hypocenter distribution and confidence ellipse of the different earthquakes differ.
Spatiotemporal Distribution of Relocated Hypocenters
Figure 7 shows the hypocenters of 204 VT earthquakes relocated using the DD method. The hypocenters are distributed at a depth of 0–4 km from the vicinity of Minami-dake into the northeastern direction within a distance of 1 km. In addition, a seismicity gap is detected at a depth of ∼1 km; the hypocenters are concentrated above and below the seismicity gap. The hypocenter distributions for the time periods A, B, C, and D are shown using map views (Figure 8) and vertical cross-sections (Figure 9). Figure 10 shows the temporal variation of the depths of the hypocenters and the magnitudes of the earthquakes. In time period A (7:00–9:00 JST), the hypocenters are distributed at depths of 0.3–1 km (Figures 9A, 10) and 0.5–1 km east of Minami-dake (Figure 8A). In time period B (9:00–10:30 JST), the hypocenters are distributed within 1 km east of Minami-dake (Figure 8B) and at a depth of 0.3–0.9 km (Figures 9B, 10), except for an event at a depth of 2 km that occurred at 9:03 JST. The magnitudes of the earthquakes in time period B (M = 1–2) are larger than those in time period A (Figure 10). In time period C (10:30–12:00), the epicenters shift 0.5 km northeast compared with time periods A and B (Figure 8C). The distribution of the hypocenters expands at depths of 0.4–3 km (Figures 9C, 10). Many earthquakes with relatively large magnitude (multiple M = 2 earthquakes) occurred in time period C when compared with other time periods. In time period D (12:00–24:00 JST), the epicenters occupy a large area and are distributed from Minami-dake to 1 km east and 1 km northeast of it (Figure 8D). In time period D, the hypocenters are distributed in two clusters with an increase in depth; the hypocenters of the shallow and deep clusters are distributed at depths of 0.2–1 km and 1.5–3.5 km, respectively (Figures 9D, 10). As described above, the VT earthquake swarm on August 15, 2015, starts at very shallow depth and, subsequently, the seismogenic zone expands in the depth direction in a relatively short time period of ∼6 hr.
FIGURE 7

Hypocenter distributions of the VT earthquakes on August 15, 2015, as determined by the double-difference method. The colors indicate the occurrence time. (A) Map view of the relocated hypocenters. Contours are provided every 100 m. (B) and (C) are the EW and NS cross sections, respectively.
FIGURE 8

Epicenter distributions of the VT earthquakes (circles). The colors of the circles indicate the occurrence time same as Figure 7. Some of focal mechanisms (beach balls) are shown along with their epicenters. The colors of the beach balls indicate focal depths. The occurrence time of the focal mechanism is also shown along with corresponding beach ball. Contours are provided every 100 m. (A) Period from 7:00 to 9:00 JST. (B) Period from 9:00 to 10:30 JST. (C) Period from 10:30 to 12:00 JST. (D) Period from 12:00 to 24:00 JST.
FIGURE 9

Hypocenters of the VT earthquakes on August 15, 2015, projected on the cross sections A–A’ (NE–SW) and B–B’ (NW–SE), as shown in Figure 8. The colors indicate the occurrence time as Figure 7. Red arrows show the depth of the center of the aseismic zone. The black arrows show the position of the tip of the expanded area of the hypocenter distribution. (A) Period from 7:00 to 9:00 JST. (B) Period from 9:00 to 10:30 JST. (C) Period from 10:30 to 12:00 JST. (D) Period from 12:00 to 24:00 JST.
FIGURE 10

Temporal change of the hypocenter depth of the VT earthquakes on August 15, 2015. The colors indicate the occurrence time as Figure 7. The size of the circle is proportional to the magnitudes of the VT earthquakes. The vertical lines indicate 9:00, 10:30, and 12:00 JST. The letters A, B, C and D represent the time periods.
It is evident that the hypocenter distribution changes based on the velocity structure model used for hypocenter determination. Therefore, we relocated the hypocenters using the same method and two additional velocity structures (Supplementary Figure S3). One is a homogeneous half-space structure used in
Focal Mechanisms
The focal mechanisms of 176 events are estimated from the P-wave polarity and amplitude ratios of the P- and S-waves. Focal mechanisms with qualities A, B, or C, as described in Estimation of Focal Mechanisms, are obtained for 93 events (Supplementary Figure S2) and are used for the discussion in this study. Some of them are also plotted on map views along with their epicenters for the time periods A, B, C, and D (Figure 8). The strikes of normal faulting mechanisms well match the A–A’ (NE–SW) direction for the four time periods (Figure 8). The P- and T-axes of the focal mechanisms of all events with a quality of C or higher are plotted on one focal sphere in Figure 11. The P-axes are distributed in the NE–SW direction from the center of the focal sphere, while the T-axes are distributed in the NW–SE direction. Figure 12 shows the azimuthal distribution of the P- and T-axes for the time periods A, B, C, and D. We classify the focal mechanisms into three types, that is, normal faulting, reverse faulting, and strike-slip faulting (Supplementary Table S7), using the method of
FIGURE 11

Distribution of the tension (T)-axes (inverted colored triangles) and pressure (P)-axes (colored circles) of the focal mechanisms in an equal-area lower-hemisphere projection of the focal sphere. The colors indicate the occurrence time as in Figure 7.
FIGURE 12

Rose diagrams showing the frequency distribution of the azimuths of the P-axis (red) and T-axis (blue) for the time periods: (A) 7:00 to 9:00, (B) 9:00 to 10:30, (C) 10:30 to 12:00, and (D) 12:00 to 24:00 JST on August 15, 2015. The rose diagrams have a 30° interval. Each bin shows one frequency. The number of events whose P- and T-axes were determined for each time period is also shown. The thick line in each diagram shows the strike direction of the dike source of the ground deformation associated with the VT earthquake swarm (
Discussion
Spatial Relation Between Volcano-Tectonic Swarm Seismicity and the Dike Inflation
The VT earthquake swarm occurred in a short time period. Earthquakes with similar waveforms were concentrated in time period A when the tilt change started in the first stage of the swarm (Figure 4). In time periods B and C, they were concentrated when the tilt change rate increased (Figure 4). Further, the hypocenters clustered at very shallow depths in time periods A and B, while the hypocenter area extended to the deeper depths during time period C, with the largest tilt change rate (Figures 4B, 10). Subsequently, the tilt change rate decreased gradually in time period D (Figures 4B, 10). The hypocenters in the period can be divided into shallow and deep regions, corresponding to the sporadic occurrence of earthquakes with similar waveforms (Figures 4A, 10). The tilt change was caused by dike inflation, as previously described (
FIGURE 13

Hypocenters of the VT earthquakes and dike source (
FIGURE 14

Rose diagrams showing the frequency distribution of the azimuths of the P-axis (red) and T-axis (blue) for clusters 1 (A) and 2 (B). The rose diagrams have a 30° interval. Each bin shows one frequency. The number of events whose P- and T-axes were determined for each time period is also shown. The thick line in each diagram shows the strike direction of the dike source of the ground deformation associated with the VT earthquake swarm (
Based on the above-mentioned results, we will describe the generation of earthquakes in clusters 1 and 2 caused by the dike source inflation in this section.
Next, we describe the stress fields around Sakurajima and close to the dike. As noted previously, the stress field around Sakurajima is characterized by extension in the NW–SE direction and compression in the NE–SW direction (Figure 1;
As explained in the latter part of Spatiotemporal Distribution of Relocated Hypocenters, the depth of the hypocenter distribution changes with a change in the assumed velocity structure (Figure 9; Supplementary Figures S4,S5). Therefore, the positional relation with the dike and the hypocenters along the depth differs depending on the assumed velocity structure. However, it is more appropriate to discuss the positional relation between the dike and the hypocenters obtained by the velocity structure in this study or the fine structure, which are both constructed from the result of the seismic refraction analysis (
In addition, in the focal mechanism analysis, the influence of take-off angles of seismic waves from the hypocenter on velocity structure can slightly alter the mechanism. Therefore, regarding the earthquake generation mechanism model, it is difficult to assign either the second or third model to cluster 2 as the primary earthquake generation mechanism. To address the problem, three-dimensional (3-D) seismic velocity structure should be adopted in hypocenter determination and focal mechanism estimation. For example,
The inflation deformation associated with the swarm seismicity of Sakurajima has a relatively simple differential InSAR image, as it can be explained by a single dike (
There is a possibility of the growth of the dike or the existence of another dike corresponding to the extension of the hypocentral area toward the northeast, as observed in period D. According to a principal strain analysis of the records of extension meters installed in station AR1 during the swarm seismicity, principal strain axes rotate clockwise over time from period A to D (Higashi Uchida personal communication). In particular, the rotational speed from period C to D is greater than those in the previous periods (Higashi Uchida personal communication), which suggests the northeastward extension of the dike or the formation of a second dike. More precise modeling of the multidisciplinary high time-sampling continuous deformation data during the swarm seismicity should be explored in future.
Possible Scenario of the Swarm Seismicity Associated With the Dike Inflation on August 15, 2015
In the previous section, the relation between the dike inflation and VT earthquake swarm was discussed based on the hypocenter location and azimuthal distributions of the P- and T-axes. Here, we describe the dike inflation process and VT swarm seismicity induced by the dike inflation in the four periods A, B, C, and D. Figure 15 shows the conceptual cross-sectional view of the hypocenter distribution and location of the inflating dike at a depth of 0–4 km for the four periods, the depth profile of the brittle fracture strength of the crustal rocks in the crust, and the conceptual diagram of the amount of inflation of the dike.
FIGURE 15

Conceptual cross-sectional A–A′ and B–B′ views of the hypocenter distribution, location of the dike, depth profile of the brittle fracture strength of the crustal rocks, and conceptual diagram of the amount of the inflation of the dike for the time periods: (A) 7:00 to 9:00, (B) 9:00 to 10:30, (C) 10:30 to 12:00, and (D) 12:00 to 24:00 JST on August 15, 2015. Corresponding time period is shown with bright-green color. The location of the dike is shown by rectangles and lines in the cross-sections. The gray rectangle and lines indicate the initial stage of the dike inflation, while black ones indicate the evolution stage of the dike inflation. Although the size of the dike rectangle is same for period A and B, the gray dike rectangle exists only in period A, because the inflation volume of the dike in period A is smaller than the one in period B. Note that typical focal mechanisms (beach balls) are projected on the cross-sections for the four periods. The white and black dots show the position of T- and P-axes, respectively.
Conclusions
We relocated 204 hypocenters and derived 176 focal mechanisms of the VT earthquake swarm that occurred at Sakurajima volcano on August 15, 2015. Based on the cross-correlation of waveforms of the VT earthquakes and the change rate of the ground deformation associated with the VT swarm, we obtained the following results for four time periods:
Period A (7:00–9:00 JST) and B (9:00–10:30 JST): The hypocenters are distributed at a shallow depth of 0.3–1 km.
Period C (10:30–12:00 JST): The hypocenter distribution expands to the deeper part and is located at a depth of 0.3–3 km. The seismic activity is largest and there are multiple M2 class earthquakes and the change rate of the ground deformation is the largest.
Period D (12:00–24:00 JST): The hypocenters are distributed in two clusters at different depths. The shallow and deep clusters are located at depths of 0.2–1 km and 1.5–3.5 km, respectively.
For the four time periods, the hypocenters are divided into the shallow and deep clusters, and the P- and T-axis distributions of the focal mechanism solutions are compared with strike and opening directions of the dike estimated from the ground deformation. The normal faulting and strike-slip faulting are dominant for the focal mechanisms during the four time periods. The T-axes of the shallow cluster were distributed parallel to the opening direction of the dike. The P-axes of the deep cluster have a pattern that is in agreement with the regional stress field in the strike direction of the dike, whereas the T-axes are parallel to the opening direction of the dike. In addition, the deep cluster also shows a 90°-rotated pattern in which the P-axes are distributed in the opening direction of the dike and the T-axes are distributed in the strike direction of the dike. Although there is only the former pattern in time period C, both patterns are mixed in time period D. This reflects the difference in how the stress field changes due to the dike inflation in earthquake generation. It is interpreted that the stress in the vicinity of the dike was modified by the dike inflation, and the VT earthquakes were induced by the differential stress exceeding the brittle fracture strength of the rock. It is suggested that dike inflation is so fast that the VT earthquake swarm initiated from shallow depths, within weaker rocks, expanded at deep within stronger rocks as dike inflation progressed, and continued for a while during the deceleration of the intrusion growth. The spatiotemporal changes of the hypocenters and focal mechanism shown here may be unique features of rapid dike intrusion. Further seismic and deformation observations are required to test this hypothesis.
Statements
Data availability statement
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the corresponding author, without undue reservation.
Author contributions
MK performed all the analysis in the present study and wrote his master thesis. HN and MK contributed to the planning and interpretation of the present study. HN reconstruct the thesis, refined the interpretation, drafted and revised the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Funding
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 18K03781 to HN and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan, under its Earthquake and Volcano Hazards Observation and Research Program.
Acknowledgments
We thank Shiro Ohmi and Masato Iguchi for providing valuable advice and comments. We also thank Valerio Acocella and Luigi Passarelli and two other reviewers for critical inputs that improved the quality of the manuscript.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
Supplementary material
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2020.600223/full#supplementary-material.
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Summary
Keywords
hypocenter, focal mechanism, volcano-tectonic earthquake, dike inflation, earthquake swarm, Sakurajima
Citation
Koike M and Nakamichi H (2021) Dike Inflation Process Beneath Sakurajima Volcano, Japan, During the Earthquake Swarm of August 15, 2015. Front. Earth Sci. 8:600223. doi: 10.3389/feart.2020.600223
Received
29 August 2020
Accepted
24 December 2020
Published
16 February 2021
Volume
8 - 2020
Edited by
Luigi Passarelli, Université de Genève, Switzerland
Reviewed by
Federica Lanza, ETH Zurich, Switzerland
Alessandro Bonaccorso, National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, Italy
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© 2021 Koike and Nakamichi.
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*Correspondence: Haruhisa Nakamichi, nakamiti@svo.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp
This article was submitted to Volcanology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Earth Science
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