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InSAR Deformation Analysis and Source Modelling of the Guagua Pichincha Volcano (Ecuador)

Abstract:

Guagua Pichincha (4784 m a.s.1.) is a dacite-composed stratovolcano, located 12 km to the west of Quito, Ecuador's capital with over 2.7 million inhabitants. In the last decades, it was affected by seismic activity. Here, we present the results of multi-temporal InSAR (Interferometric SAR) processing over Guagua Pichincha volcano during 2014-2019, and the related volcanic source modelling. Our results show a general inflation of a restricted area of the volcanic edifice, reaching 2.7 cm/yr deformation rate in the inner caldera and a cumulative uplift of more than 10 cm in 5 years. The resolved ground velocities are better fitted adopting an ellipsoidal shaped tensile crack opening at a depth of 700 m below the domes, with its major axis of about 1 km length in the N36°E direction.