The combined use of InSAR and GPS Time-Series to Infer the Deformation Signals at the Yellowstone Caldera

Abstract:

We investigate the Yellowstone caldera geological unrest between 1977 and 2010 by analyzing temporal changes in differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR), precise spirit leveling andgravity measurements. The analysis of the 1992–2010 displacement time series has been retrieved by applying an “improved” version of the Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) InSAR technique which complements a novel multi-temporal noise filtering approach with a suitable identification of the network of small baseline pairs. As a result, we have identified three areas of deformation: (i) the Mallard Lake (ML) and Sour Creek (SC) resurgent domes, (ii) a region close to the Northern Caldera Rim (NCR), and (iii) the eastern Snake River Plain (SRP). While the eastern SRP shows a signal related to tectonic deformation, the other two regions are influenced by the caldera unrest. We removed the tectonic signal from the InSAR displacements, and we modeled the InSAR, leveling, and gravity measurements to retrieve the best fitting source parameters. Our findings confirmed the existence of different distinct sources, beneath the brittle-ductile transition zone, which have been intermittently active during the last three decades. Moreover, we interpreted our results in the light of existing seismic tomography studies. Concerning the SC dome, we highlighted the role of hydrothermal fluids as the driving force behind the 1977–1983 uplift; since 1983–1993 the deformation source transformed into a deeper one with a higher magmatic component. Furthermore, our results support the magmatic nature of the deformation source beneath ML dome for the overall investigated period. Finally, the uplift at NCR is interpreted as magma accumulation, while its subsidence could either be the result of fluids migration outside the caldera or the gravitational adjustment of the source from a spherical to a sill-like geometry.