GEOPHYSICALRESEARCHLETTERS,VOL. 24,NO.

15,PAGES1843-1846,
AUGUST1, 1997

Readjustment of the Krafla spreadingsegmentto crustal rifling

measured by Satellite Radar Interferometry
FreysteinnSigmundsson
NordicVolcanological
Institute,Universityof Iceland,Grensasvegur
50, IS-108Reykjavik,Iceland

H616ne Vadon and Didier Massonnet

Centre
National
d'l•tudes
Spatiales,
18Avenue
E.Belin,31055,Toulouse,
France

Abstract. Readjustment of the Kraflaspreading segment on the

Mid-AtlanticRidgein Iceland,aftera riftingepisodefrom 1975
to 1984,is detectedby radarinterferometry. Crustaldeformation
from 1992 to 1995 is dominatedby -24 mm/yearsubsidence
abovea shallowmagmachamberat Krafla,superimposed on
mm/yearalong-axissubsidence of thespreading segment relative
to its flanks.The deformation is causedby coolingcontraction at
-3 km depth and ductile flow of material away from the
spreading axis,at a ratedecreasing with time.

Introduction

Divergent plate movementsstretchthe crust at mid-ocean

ridgesuntil it breaksin rifting events.Afterwards,ratesof crustal
deformationremain high while the crust readjuststo newly
formed dikes, as monitoredin north Iceland [Foulger et al.,
1992;Heki et al., 1993], at the Krafla spreadingsegment(Fig. 1).
The spreadingsegmentis a separatevolcanicsystemconsisting
of a fissure swarm and the Krafla central volcano, which is a
centerof magmaticactivity [Saemundsson, 1991] with a magma
chamberat about3 km depth[Tryggvason,1986; Brandsd6ttiret
al. 1997] and a high-temperature geothermalfield above.During
a rifting episodefrom 1975 to 1984 [e.g., Bj6rnsson,1985], the
Krafla magmachamberinflatedin responseto inflow of magma Figure 1. Map of Krafla showingfaults, the 1975-1984 lava
frombelow.Thiswasinterrupted-•20 timesby sudden •teflation field (thick line), 100 m elevationcontours,lakes(shaded),and
when the chamberfailed, eruptionsand dike injectionsoccurred, Figs.4 and 5 profile locations.Insetshowsspreading segments
and the spreadingsegmentwidenedon averageby 4-6 meters. on the Mid AtlanticRidgein Iceland,box denotesour studyarea.
The Krafla volcano inflated from 1985 to 1989, but subsidedat a
rateof-5 cm/yearin the 1989-1992period[Tryggvason,1994].
The long-term averagerate of spreadingin Iceland is -•1.9 km depthrange,asrecentseismic
resultssuggest[Brandsd6ttiret
cm/year, but Global Positioning System measurementshave al. 1997]. The formerstudyagreeswith the interpretationof
revealed larger extension.From 1987 to 1990 spreadingrates magnetotelluricmeasurements,
suggestingpartialmelt at 10-20
were up to 6 cm/year,but decayedto 4 cm/yearin 1990-1992 km depth[e.g.,Bj6rnsson,1985].
[Foulger et al., 1992; Foulger et al., 1994]. Areaswithin 30 km A number
ofprevious
studies
including
those
ofMassonn•t
et
from the spreadingaxis were also uplifted up to 10 cm from al. [1993; 1995] and Vadon and Sigmundsson[1997] have
1987 to 1992 [Hofion and Foulger, 1996a].The deformationcan demonstratedthe usefulnessof radar interferometryfor
be attributedto post-riftingrelaxationof stressesin the crust,but measuringcrustal deformation.Interferograms,formed by
the derivedearth structureis non-unique.Dike injectionduring
the rifting episodein a 10 km thick elasticlayer underlainby a
l0 is Pa s viscoelastic
halfspace withobservationsTable 1. Characteristics
is consistent of interferograms.
[Hofion and Foulget, 1996a], as well as a model with a 8 km
thicklayerof 3x10•9Pasviscosity
between
anelastic
crustanda Master Date Slave Date Timespanaa*
orbit orbit (years) (m)
3x10•8Pas mantle[PollitzandSacks,
1996].Thelatterstudyis
consistentwith temperatures
well below the solidusin the 10-20
6166(ERS-1) 19/09/92 11677(ERS-1) 09/10/93 1.05 493
6166(ERS-1) 19/09/92 1867(ERS-2) 29/08/95 2.94 52
Copyright1997bytheAmericanGeophysical
Union. 11677(ERS-1)09/10/93 1867 (ERS-2) 29/08/95 1.89 59

Papernumber97GL01934. * Altitude of ambiguity (the ground elevationdifferencewhich

0094-8534/97/97GL-01934505.00 generatesone fringein an interferogram),
at the locationof Krafla.

1843
1844 SIGMUNDSSON ET AL.' KRAFLA READJUSTMENT BY RADAR INTERFEROMETRY

A 61• B 55• 55
,•0 50
45
45 45

40 658 • 658 5
I"--
,-- i '
25
20

2
15 20
15
15
10

0
-5
657 •,.r I ' . -5

'-,1 /.• 1 ,?

-30 -30 -30

-35 -35 -35
-40 -40 ..-41

16 16.8 -16; 68 -16,•-

Figure2. Unwrapped interferogram

showingobserved ground-to-satellite
changein rangein millimetres,
covering1.05yearsfrom1992to 1993(A), a bestfit model(B), andtheresidual,
observedminusmodel,
interferogram
(C). Whitedotsin Fig.2C showdrillholes
in geothermal
areas.

comparison
of synthetic
aperture
radar(SAR) imagestakenat by atmospheric perturbations, and artefactsdue to DEM errors
differenttimes,containinformationaboutchangein rangefrom do alsoappearin the 1.89-yearandthe 2.94-yearimages.These
ground to satellitewith ---1 cm accuracy.We formed effectscanbe discriminated from grounddeformationsignals,by
interferograms
from imagesacquiredby the ERS-1andERS-2 a pair-wisecomparison of interferograms [Massonet and Feigl,
satellites,
duringtheir35-dayorbitalcyclein 1992-1995. 1995]. A consistencyanalysisshowsthat a subareaof the
interferograms, coveringKrafla,is relativelyfreeof artefacts.For
Data
thisarea,we unwrapped the interferograms (Figs.2 and3), using
a noise resistantalgorithm[Tarayre, 1996], well adaptedto
We produced threeinterferograms for the Kraflaarea(Table unwrappingof few fringes in the presenceof noise. After
1), usingthreeimagesacquiredduringtimesof no snow-cover unwrapping the interferograms provideunambiguous measureof
on the ground.We usedthe sameapproachas Vadonand changein range,whereasoriginalinterferograms are wrapped,
Sigmundsson [1997],removing topographic fringesby theuseof phasesbeingknownonly between0 and2re.In the caseof ERS
a digitalelevationmodel(DEM) from the IcelandicGeodetic eachphasefringecorresponds to rangechangeof 28 mm.
survey,and postcomputed orbits from the EuropeanSpace We observetime-progressive increasein rangeover Krafla,
Agency.We removedresidualorbitaleffectsby subtracting a causedby subsidence. A subsidence bowlappears nearthe center
linearrange-change gradient,at theriskof removingat thesame of the Krafla system(Figs.2, 3, 4), aboveits previouslyinferred
time a part of the horizontalpost-riftingsignal that is magmachamber.Furthermore, increasein rangealongthe rift
characterizedby relativelyspatiallyuniformcrustalstrainat axis is also observed,best in the 1.05-year interferogram.The
distancesupto -20 km fromtheKraflariff [HofionandFoulger, otherinterferograms showalong-riftrangeincrease as well, but
1996a].The full,-100 by 100km, interferograms aredisturbed there it is superimposed on rangechangegradientsof larger

75

65
35
65.8 5.8 5

,
• 20 • 5
• 15 25
, 10
15
5
57

15

-25 -3
-31 ..45
16 1• ß 16•

Figure3. Unwrapped
interferograms
showing
rangechange
(mm),covering
1.89years(A), and2.94years(B).
 SIGMUNDSSON ET AL.' KRAFLA READJUSTMENT BY RADAR INTERFEROMETRY 1845

I
1975-1984lava. In particular,the largestsignalin the 1.05-year
E 20-
• -
residualinterferogram,a range increasecenteredon 16.95øW,
• 0 65.8øN, is likely an atmosphericperturbation,becauseno similar
structureappearsin the 2.94-year interferogram.Some residual
rangeincreaseis found over areasof geothermalexploitation.Its

Eastdista,
nce
(km)'
"•"'"
'"•,,,....
-o -40
extent is lessthan observedat Svartsengiin SW-Iceland [Vadon
and Sigmundsson,1997] as pressurein the Krafla geothermal
n' -80
0 -5 0 5 10 area has remainedmostly stable[Steingrimsson and BjOrnsson,
1996].Rangeincrease
overthe 1975-1984lavaflow, Arlava
, is
Figure 4. Profilesacrossthe 1.05-year(dotted),1.89-year(thin causedby bothlava compactionand an errorin the DEM we use,
line), and 2.94-year (thick line) interferogramsalong 65.71ø whichrepresents
the pre-rifting
topography.It equalsArlava
=
latitude,overthe Krafla magmachamber. (28mm)(hlava
/ aa) + sat, wherehlava
is lavathickness,aa is
altitude of ambiguity, s is assumedconstantrate of subsidence,
projectedon the rangedirection,and At is elapsedtime. Profiles
wavelength which are atmospheric perturbations.These
acrossour three residualinterferograms (Fig. 5) give consistent
perturbations
are large,about10 mm per 10 km, andthey mask
resultsfor the two unknown parameters.The inferred rate of
more subtlehorizontaldisplacementgradients,as expectedfrom
subsidenceis-6 mm/year, and the maximumthicknessof the
theongoingpost-riftingviscoelastic
stress
relaxation.
lava field is-50 m. The largethicknessis dueto the formationof
the lava field in multipleeruptions,we suggestthe subsidence is
Modelling due to thermal contraction.Mean cooling of the lava field of
-12øC per year is implied, as the linear coefficientof thermal
We modelled the interferogramssimilarly as Vadon and
expansion is about10-søK-•[Turcotte andSchubert,1982].
Sigrnundsson [1997], exceptwe did not includehorizontalplate
movements.Pressurechangein a magmachamberwasmodelled
by a point sourceof pressure within an elastichalfspace[Mogi, Interpretation and conclusions
1958], the along-riftchangewas modelledby a corresponding
Our inferred Mogi sourceis in the samelocation,and at the
line-source [e.g., Marquart and Jacoby, 1985]. Surface
samedepth,as the Krafla magmachamberidentifiedby previous
displacements were calculated,then the changein rangefrom
geodetic measurements[e.g., Tryggvason 1986, 1994] and
groundto satellitewas derivedby projectingthe displacement
seismicimaging[Brandsd6ttiret al., 1997]. Candidateprocesses
vectoron to the unit vectorfrom groundto satellite,(0.39, -0.11,
responsiblefor subsidenceabove the chamberinclude cooling
0.91) in east,north,andverticalin ourcase.We fixedthelatitude
contraction at its edge, draining of magma from it, and
and longitudeof the Mogi sourceat the centerof the observed
exploitation of the Krafla geothermal field. The rate of
concentricrange increase,at (16.79øW, 65.71øN). The line subsidenceis much less in the 1993-1995 period, than in the
sourcewas fixed to go through(16.90øW,65.58øN),alignedin earlier 1992-1993 period (Table 2). This argues against
the N17øE direction, beneath the Krafla rift axis. Model
geothermalexploitationbeing the main causeof subsidenceas
interferograms
were calculatedfor each of the three observed the pressure in the Krafla geothermal area has remained
interferograms,adjustingby trial and error the four remaining relatively constant.Slow drainageof magmafrom the chamber
freemodel
parameters,
thesources
depths(dmog
i anddline
), and into the rift zone can not be excludedas a causeof subsidence,
themaximumsurface
subsidence
dueto eachsource(hmog
i and but we suggest, however, it is mostly due to magma
hline
). Best-fitparameters
wereselected
sotheyminimized
the solidificationand cooling.About 0.9x106m3/yearsubsurface
sumof the three residualinterferogramsvariance(Table 2). The volume changeis inferred, as the integratedvolume of Mogi
depthof the sourceswas assumedto remainthe samethroughout
the 1992-1995 period,and surfacesubsidence
modelupliftis 2xhmogidmogi
2 andforPoisson's ratio0.25the
was constrained correspondingsubsurfacevolume change is 2/3 this volume.
suchthath1992.1993q- h1993.1995
-- h1992.199
s. Themodelfits best Densityof liquid magmaof the type erupted1975-1984 at Krafla
the 1.05-year interferogram(Fig. 2), but long wavelength is-2730 kg/m3. If it solidifiesat depthas gabbroits densityat
gradientsremain in the 1.89-year and the 2.94-year residual 1050øC willbe-•2975kg/m 3(N.•skarsson, pers.comm., 1997).
interferogramsandcausetheirhighervariance.Variationof more
than-0.5kmindmog
i anddline
, and-•4
mminhmog
i andhline
, from
the best-fit values causesvisual degradationof the residual •' 60
E
interferograms. v 40
Contributors to the residual interferograms include
• 20
atmosphericperturbations,geothermal exploitation, and the
o 0

e -20
Table2. Modellingresults.
c•andIJre
sarestandard
deviations
of
range changein observedand residualinterferograms, for the • -40
' ' i .... i .... i ....

areabetween65.65 and 65.8øN (usedto fit the models). -10 -5 0 5

Figure 5. Profilesacrossthe 1.05-year(dotted),1.89-year(thin

Interferometric
pair
c• (Xr•
(mm) s hmogi.
(mm) (mm) •l•lg
• hline
(mm) dline
(km) line), and 2.94 year (thick line) residualinterferograms
along
65.81øN, crossingthe 1975-1984 lava flow. Top profile is pre-
rifting topographyin tensof meters.The largeincreasein range
i .05-year,1992-93 11 7 40 14
1.89-year,1993-95 11 9 30 3 6 is due to-6 mm/year compactionof the lava field, and a -•50 m
2.94-year,1992-95 20 14 70 20 DEM error due to it. Shadingshowsthe extentof the lava field,
it is thickestwherethe pre-eruptionvalley is deepest.
 1846 SIGMUNDSSON ET AL.: KRAFLA READJUSTMENT BY RADAR INTERFEROMETRY

The corresponding
volume contractionis 9%. Further cooling 1975-1983, Report OS-84085/JHD-37B, National Energy
from 1050øC to 400øC, the estimated ambient crustal Authority,Reykjavik,Iceland,1984.
temperatureat 3 km depth,causesadditional2% contraction. Brandsd6tttir,B., W. Menke, P. Einarsson,R. S. White, R. K.
Accordingly, solidificationand cooling down to 400øC of Staples,Faroe-Icelandridge experiment2. Crustalstructureof
Krafla centralvolcano,d. Geophys.Res.,102, 7867-7886, 1997.
13x106m3/yearof magmain the 1992-1993period,and5x106
Foulget, G. R., C.-H. Jahn, G. Seebet,P. Einarsson,B. R. Julian,
m3/yearin 1993-1995,at the chamberedge,canfully explainthe andK. Heki, Post-riftingstressrelaxationat the divergentplate
subsidence above the chamber. The released heat would fuel the
boundaryin northeastIceland,Nature, 358, 488-490, 1992.
Krafla geothermalarea. Suchfuellinghasbeenproposed for the Foulget, G. R., M. A. Hofton, B. R. Julian, C. -H. Jahn,K. Heki,
largest geothermalarea in Iceland, there solidificationand Regionalpost-dikingdeformationin northeastIceland: A third
coolingof up to 5x107 m3/yearof magmahas beeninferred epochof GPS measurements in 1992,Proceedings of the CRCM
[BjOrnssonet al., 1982]. '93, Kobe, December6-11, 1993, pp. 99-105, 1994.
Processeslikely to contributeto subsidence alongthe Krafla Heki, K., G. R. Foulget, B. R. Julian, and C. -H. Jahn, Plate
rift are ductile flow of materialfrom the rift axis and cooling. dynamics near divergent plate boundaries: Geophysical
implicationsof post-riftingcrustaldeformationin NE Iceland,d.
BjOrnssonet al. [1984] measureda 15øCwarmingof an along-
Geophys.Res.,98, 14279-14297, 1993.
rift southerlyflowing streamof groundwaterduringthe 1975- Hofton,M. A•, andG. R. Foulger,Postriftinganelasticdeformation
1984 rifting events,and subsequent coolingby-0.5øC per year. around thespreading plateboundary, northIceland1. Modeling
If representativefor the bulk of the crust along the riff, the of the 1987-1992 deformationfield using a visocelasticearth
ongoingcoolingcausesdeformation.The crosssectionalareaof structure,d. Geophys.Res., 101, 25403-25421, 1996a.
surfacesubsidence dueto a line sourceis •hlinedline, and our Hofton,M. A., and G. R. Foulger,Postriftinganelasticdeformation
inferred along-rift volume loss at the surface averages to around the spreading plate boundary, north Iceland 2.
Implications of the model derived from the 1987-1992
0.06x106m3/yearper kilometerlengthof the riff. Coolingof a
deformationfield,J. Geophys.Res.,101, 25423-25436,1996b.
/1.5-km-wide and 3-km-high zone at the rift axis by 0.5øC/year
Massonnet,D., M. Rossi,C. Carmona,F. Adragna,G. Pelzer, K.
/can explainthe amount, andthe narrowlateralextentof Feigl, and T. Rabaute,The displacementfield of the Landers
subsidencearoundthe rift. Ductile flow of material away from earthquakemappedby radar interferometry,Nature, 364, 138-
the riff axis can also cause subsidence,as we suggestedto 142, 1993.
explain-6.5 mm/yearsubsidence of the ReykjanesPeninsularift Massonnet, D., P. Briole, A. Arnaud, Deflation of Mount Etna
in SW-Iceland [Vadon and Sigmundsson,1997]. At Krafla the monitoredby spaceborne radarinterferometry,
Nature,375, 567-
along-rift subsidenceis decayingin time, and thereforeit may 570, 1995.
relateto post-riftingstressrelaxation.For the 1990-1992period, Massonnet,D., and K. L. Feigl, Discriminationof geophysical
phenomenain satelliteradarinterferograms, Geophys.Res.Lett.,
a modelof this processpredictsflank uplift relativeto the central 22, 1537-1540, 1995.
axis of Krafla [HoJ•onand Foulget, 1996b]. This is in line with Marquart, G., and W. Jacoby,On the mechanismof magma
our observations for the 1992-1995 periodwhich can equallybe injectionandplatedivergenceduringthe Krafia rifting episode
interpretedin terms of absoluteuplift of the flanks of the in NE Iceland,J. Geophys.Res.,90, 10178-10192,1985.
spreadingsegmentrelativeto the rift axis, as well as along-axis Mogi, K., Relationsbetweenthe eruptionsof variousvolcanoes and
subsidence.The viscoelasticmodel by HoJ•on and Foulget the deformationof the ground surfacesaroundthem, Bull.
[ 1996aand b] includesa 10-km-thickelasticlithosphere,but the EarthquakeRes.Inst. Univ. Tokyo,36, 99-134, 1958.
narrow subsidencewe observe is compatible with a thinner Pollitz, F. F., and I. Selwyn Sacks, Viscosity structurebeneath
northeastIceland,J. Geophys.Res.,101, 17771-17793,1996.
lithospherealongthe rift. The relativecontributions of cooling
Saemundsson, K., The geologyof the Krafia volcanicsystem(in
contractionand ductile flow to the along-rift subsidenceis Icelandic), in Nattufa Myvatns, Eds. A. Gardarsonand A.
difficult to assess.Both processesindicate, however, the Einarsson, Hid IslenskaNatturufraedifelag,
Reykjavik,Iceland,
readjustment of the spreadingsegmentto crustalrifling. The rate pp. 25-95, 1991.
of deformation decreasedfrom 1992 to 1995, and the current low Steingrimsson,B., and G. Bj/3rnsson,Drillhole Measurementsat
ratesof deformationsuggestthe readjustment is in a final stage,a Krafla and Bjarnarflag in 1995, Report OS-96025/JHD-14B,
decadeafterthe end of the rifling episode.Our measurements of NationalEnergyAuthority,Reykjavik,Iceland,1996.
deformation rates lower than several centimetersper year, Tarayre, H., Extractionde Models Numeriquesde Terrain par
Interferom•trie Satellitaire, Ph.D. thesis, Institut National
demonstrate the usefulnessof radarinterferometryfor long-term
Polytechnique de Toulouse,France,1996.
monitoringof modestdeformationof volcanicsystems. Tryggvason,E., Multiple magmareservoirsin a rift zone volcano:
Grounddeformation andmagmatransport duringthe September
Acknowledgments.
FSthanks
N. (Sskarsson,
A. Bj6msson,
andG. 1984 eruptionof Krafia, Iceland, J. Voleanol.and Geotherm.
Bj6rnssonfor discussionon Krafia, and partial supportfrom the Res., 28, 1-44, 1986.
EuropeanCommission(grant ENV4-CT96-0252) and the Icelandic Tryggvason,E., Surfacedeformationat the Krafia volcano,north
Research Council. We thank P. Segall, R. Btlrgmann, and an Iceland,Bull. Vole.,56, 98-107, 1994.
anonymousreviewer for commentsthat improvedthe paper. The Turcotte,D. L, andG. Schubert,Geodynamies, J. Wiley, NY, 1982.
GMT publicdomainsoftwarewasusedto preparefigures. Vadon,H., and F. Sigmundsson, Crustaldeformationfrom 1992 to
1995 at the Mid-AtlanticRidge,southwest Iceland,mappedby
References satelliteradarinterferometry,
Science,275, 193-197,1997.

Bj6msson, A., Dynamics of crustal rifting in NE Iceland, J.

Geophys.Res.,90, 10151-10162, 1985. D. MassonnetandH. Vadon,CNES, 18 AvenueE. Belin, 31055,
Bj6rnsson,H., S. Bj6msson,Th. Sigurgeirsson,
Penetrationof water Toulouse, France(e-mail:helene.vadon•cnes.fr)
into hot rock boundariesof magma at Grimsv/Jtn,Nature, 295, F. Sigmundsson, NordicVolcanological Institute,Grensasvegur
580-581, 1982. 50, IS-108Reykjavik,Iceland.(e-mail: fs•norvol.hi.is).
Bj6rnsson,A., G. Bj6rnsson,H. Tryggvason,Changesin Widthof
Fissuresand Heat of Ground Water During the Krafla Fires (Received April 17, 1997;accepted
June10, 1997.)