UNAM Researchers Achieve Unprecedented Resolution of Volcano’s Interior
Scientists from the Institute of Geophysics at UNAM have successfully observed, with unprecedented detail, two magmatic chambers within the Popocatépetl volcano using seismic tomography enhanced by artificial intelligence (AI). The findings describe two of the three known magmatic chambers located at depths of up to 10 kilometers.
Who is Karina Bernal Manzanilla?
The research was presented by Karina Bernal Manzanilla, a doctoral student in the Earth Sciences program at UNAM. She worked alongside researcher Marco Calò to analyze seismic records generated between January 2019 and December 2024 by the National Disaster Prevention Center (Cenapred), complemented with previous data. The goal was to enhance resolution and better understand the internal configuration of the volcano.
Magmatic Movement and Possible Scenarios
Bernal Manzanilla explained that the magma within “Don Goyo,” as the volcano is affectionately called, is not entirely liquid. It’s partially crystallized due to confinement but can reheat and become mobile again. This constant movement is evident in the volcano’s daily emissions, leading experts to consider two possibilities: activity at deeper levels or internal mechanisms allowing magma reactivation within these chambers.
- The third magmatic chamber remains unseen using this technique, so additional monitoring systems are needed to understand deeper zones.
AI-Trained Model to Interpret Seismic Tremors
This progress was made possible by a computational model trained to differentiate and recognize various types of tremors associated with the volcano. This “automatic classification” enabled the construction of a tomography covering internal structures up to nearly 30 kilometers below sea level, close to the Earth’s mantle limit.
The initial results have been published in the study “Automated seismo-volcanic event detection applied to Popocatépetl using machine learning” in the Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. Another article is currently under review for the Journal of South American Earth Sciences.
Next Step: Measuring Volcano’s Energy
The next phase of the investigation will analyze how much energy seismic waves lose while ascending to the surface. This parameter will confirm if the hottest zones inside the volcano align with the AI-generated tomography.
“If a material is too hot, seismic waves lose more energy than when it’s cold,” Bernal Manzanilla explained, continuing to evaluate these data to verify the validity of the applied model.
