Observation of the dynamics of hydrothermal activity in La Soufriere of Guadeloupe Volcano with joint muography, gravimetry, electrical resistivity tomography, seismic and temperature monitoring

Muography uses muons contained in the natural cosmic rays to determine the density of rock volumes. The measurements consist of counting the muons emerging from the target to determine the screening effect produced by the rock. Since the larger the rock thickness, the smaller the number of muons able to cross, the time resolution that can be achieved by muography to monitor density changes is on the order of one or two weeks for kilometersized volcanoes. This limitation of the method can be reduced by joining muography with high time-resolution measurements like passive seismic monitoring. In the case of structural imaging, muography benefits from the fact that muon trajectories are linear, making the tomography problem simpler than for other geophysical techniques like electrical resistivity tomography. Experiments performed on La Soufriere of Guadeloupe volcano are described to show how muography can be used to contribute to structural imaging of a highly heterogeneous lava dome and to detect abrupt transient hydrothermal phenomena likely to produce dangerous explosive events.