The Generation of Internal Waves by Explosive Volcanic Eruptions

Recent observations have shown that explosive volcanic eruptions can generate low frequency surface pressure signals that are observable with microbarographs, and can be interpreted as atmospheric internal waves (Baines & Sacks 2013). Some examples from the Caribbean island of Montserrat are shown in Figure 1. Suitably interpreted, it is possible that these observations may give information about the eruption in locations where other observations are not possible or available (such as in remote locations, or at night etc.). This requires quantitative understanding of the link between surface pressure signals and the properties of the eruption, particularly its strength.