Japanese volcanoes visualized with muography

Hiroyuki K M Tanaka

doi:10.1098/rsta.2018.0142

Japanese volcanoes visualized with muography

Philos Trans A Math Phys Eng Sci. 2018 Dec 10;377(2137):20180142. doi: 10.1098/rsta.2018.0142.

Author

Hiroyuki K M Tanaka^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan ht@eri.u-tokyo.ac.jp.
² International Muography Research Organization, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan.

PMID: 30530547
DOI: 10.1098/rsta.2018.0142

Abstract

High-energy muons that are generated via the reaction between primary cosmic rays and the Earth's atmosphere can be used to map out the density distribution in shallow parts of a volcano's interior. This new subterranean imaging technique called muography has been applied to three different kinds of volcano dynamics in Japan: lava dome formation, vulcanian explosions and magma convection. Taking all of the observational data together, it appears that muography can serve as a new and alternative volcano observation technique, providing a fresh approach to understanding eruption mechanism. This review describes observational studies in which muography has been used to explore the volcano's interior.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Cosmic-ray muography'.

Keywords: magma; muography; volcano.

Publication types

Review