Near-Real time analysis of seismic data of active volcanoes: Software implementations of time sequence data analysis

Abstract

This paper presents the development and applications of a software-based quality control system that monitors volcano activity in near-real time. On the premise that external seismic manifestations provide information directly related to the internal status of a volcano, here we analyzed variations in background seismic noise. By continuous analysis of variations in seismic waveforms, we detected clear indications of changes in the internal status. The application of this method to data recorded in Villarrica (Chile) and Tungurahua (Ecuador) volcanoes demonstrates that it is suitable to be used as a forecasting tool. A recent application of this developed software-based quality control to the real-time monitoring of Teide – Pico Viejo volcanic complex (Spain) anticipated external episodes of volcanic activity, thus corroborating the advantages and capacity of the methodology when implemented as an automatic real-time procedure.