Abstract
Volcano deformation monitoring is fundamental to detect pressurizations
of magma bodies and forecasting any ensuing eruptions. Analytical and
quasi-analytical solutions for pressurized cavities are routinely used
to constrain volcano deformation sources through inversion of surface
displacement data. Due to their computational efficiency, such solutions
enable a thorough exploration of the parameter space and thereby provide
insight into the physics of magma-rock interaction. Developing more
general deformation models can help us better characterize subsurface
magma storage. We develop quasi-analytical solutions for the surface
deformation field due to the pressurization of a finite (triaxial)
ellipsoidal cavity in a half-space. The solution is in the form of a
non-uniform distribution of triaxial point sources within the cavity.
The point sources have the same aspect ratio, determined by the cavity
shape, while their strengths and spacing are determined in an adaptive
manner, such that the net point-source potency per unit volume is
uniform. We validate and compare our solution with analytical and
numerical solutions. We provide computationally-efficient MATLAB codes
tailored for source inversions. This solution opens the possibility of
exploring the geometry of shallow magma chambers for potential
deviations from axial symmetry.