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Regina Maaß talks about her recent publication

Dear Regina, congratulations for your recent publication in
Geophysical Journal International. Can you tell us what the
article is about?
Our article presents a detailed characterization of the
seismic wavefields recorded at Krafla volcano. A central
theme of the paper is the concept of coherency— the
similarity between seismic waveforms at different
stations. In simple geological settings, local
earthquakes are expected to produce similar signals at
stations only 30 m apart, but at Krafla we observed
strong differences even between neighboring stations.
Our study shows that this lack of coherency is due to the
influence of highly heterogeneous near-surface layers.
Resonances — reverberations of waves trapped within
lava caves and flows — contribute to these site effects.

How did you address these issues?
To address this, we developed a filter that removes
Photo credits: Regina Maaß
resonances with minimal distortion on the original
waveforms. Combined with additional processing, our
workflow improves coherency and enables the detection
of possible reflections from the IDDP-1 magma pocket. If
the reflections are from the pocket, then it extends over
an area of at least 200 × 700 m around the IDDP-1
borehole, but uncertainties remain due to our
earthquake–station geometry.

What is the main novel contribution of your work?
Our work presents a novel methodology for
characterizing and reducing site effects in seismic data,
with a focus on high-frequency resonances at volcanoes.
Our methods are broadly applicable across different
scales, geological environments, and datasets,
advancing passive reflection imaging and providing new
tools for seismic processing and interpretation in
general. Geologically, our findings have implications for
Landsvirkjun and the KMT drilling project, where precise
structural knowledge is crucial for planning drilling
Photo credits: Maurice Weber & Regina Maaß
operations and mitigating associated risks.

What was the role of IMPROVE in achieving these with a very high cost of living - without major financial
prestigious results? troubles. This stability allowed me to fully focus on my

IMRPOVE played a huge part in shaping our publication. research and truly enjoy the rewarding experience of
Thanks to the program, I had the opportunity to design doing a PhD abroad. Through summer schools, courses
and lead my own field experiment in Iceland—an and secondments, I expanded my knowledge within and
unforgettable personal and academic experience. beyond seismology, exchanged ideas with colleagues
IMPROVE enabled me to conduct my PhD in Dublin - a city from around the world, and built a strong network of
geoscientists and friends from both academia and
industry—connections that will continue to support my
academic and personal journey.

Thanks, Regina, and congratulations again for the
significant results you've achieved.

The open access peer-reviewed article is available at:
https://www.improve-etn.eu/index.php/papers/