Combined discrete and continuous gravity observations at Mount Etna

Systematic investigation of discrete gravity measurements has continued at Mount Etna since 1986. The network now covers an area of 400 km² with about 70 stations 0.5–3 km apart. Mass redistributions occurring at depths ranging between about 8 km below sea level and a few hundred metres below the surface (magma level changes within the shallower parts of the feeding conduits) have been identified from these data. Conventional (discrete) microgravity monitoring on a network of stations furnishes only instantaneous states of the mass distribution at continuously active systems. In order to obtain information on the rate at which the volcanic processes (and thus mass transfers) occur, three stations for continuously recording gravity where installed on Mount Etna in 1998. A 16-month long sequence from one of the continuously running stations (PDN, located 2 km from the active northeast crater at the summit of Etna volcano) is presented. After removing the effects of Earth Tide and tilt, the correlation of the residual gravity sequence with simultaneous recordings of meteorological parameters acquired at the same station was analysed. Once the meteorological effects have also been removed, continuous gravity changes are within 10 μGal of gravity changes measured using conventional microgravity observations at sites very close to the continuous station. This example shows how discrete and continuous gravity observations can be used together at active volcanoes to get a fuller and more accurate picture of the spatial and temporal characteristics of volcanic processes.     

A data sequence acquired at Mt. Etna during the 2002–2003 eruption highlights the potential of continuous gravity observations as a tool to monitor and study active volcanoes

A 2.5-month long gravity sequence, encompassing the starting period of the 2002–2003 Etna eruption and coming from a summit station only 1 km away from the new fractures, is presented and discussed. The sequence comprises four hours-long anomalies that have a great chance to reflect mass redistributions linked to the ensuing activity. In particular, the start of the eruptive activity on the northeastern flank was marked by a gravity decrease as strong as about 400 μGal, which reverted soon afterwards. This strong decrease/increase anomaly is interpreted as the opening, by tectonic forces, of a fracture system along the Northeastern Rift of Mt. Etna, followed by an intrusion of magma from the central conduit to the new fractures. They were used by the intruding magma as a path to the eruptive vents at lower elevations.Afterwards, on three occasions, in November and December 2002, 6–12 h-lasting gravity decreases, with amplitude ranging between 10 and 30 μGal, were observed simultaneously with increases in the amplitude of the volcanic tremor from four seismic stations. A correlation analysis, between the gravity signal and the overall spectral amplitude of each tremor sequence is performed over the 7 November–9 December period. A marked anti-correlation is found over each contemporaneous gravity decrease/tremor increase, while, over the rest of the investigated period, the correlation is negligible. Accordingly, a joint source is inferred to have acted during the occurrence of the three common anomalies. On the grounds of some volcanological observations spanning the period covered by our analysis, we propose the temporary accumulation of a gas cloud at some level within the plumbing system of the volcano to have acted as a joint source.The present work is a further evidence of the potential of continuous gravity observations as a tool to monitor and study active volcanoes and encourages their employment in spite of the difficulty of running spring gravimeters in a continuous fashion under the adverse conditions normally encountered on the summit zone of an active volcano.     

Magma movements in Etna volcano associated with the major 1991–1993 lava eruption: evidence from gravity and deformation

The 1991–1993 eruption was probably the largest on Mt. Etna for 300 years. Since then the volcano has entered an unusually quiescent period. A comprehensive record of gravity and ground deformation changes presented here bracket this eruption and give valuable insight into magma movements before, during and after the eruption. The gravity and deformation changes observed before the eruption (1990–1991) record the intrusion of magma into the summit feeder and the SSE-trending fracture system which had recently been active in 1978, 1979, 1983 and 1989, creating the feeder dyke for the 1991–1993 eruption. In the summit region gravity changes between 1992 and 1993 (spanning the end of the eruption) reflect the withdrawal of magma from the conduit followed more recently (1993–1994) by the re-filling of magma in the conduit up to pre-eruption levels. In contrast, in the vicinity of the fracture zone, gravity has remained at the 1991–1992 level, indicating that no withdrawal has occurred here. Rather, magma has solidified in the fracture system and sealed it such that the 1993–1994 increase in magma level in the conduit was not accompanied by further intrusion into the flanks. Mass calculations suggest that a volume of at least 10⁷ m³ of magma has solidified within the southeastern flank of the volcano.     

Elastic model for the gravity and elevation changes before the 2001 eruption of Etna volcano

For 5 months before the 2001 Mt. Etna eruption, a progressive gravity decrease was measured along a profile of stations on the southern slope of the volcano. Between January and July 2001, the amplitude of the change reached 80 μGal, while the wavelength of the anomaly was of the order of 15 km. Elevation changes observed through GPS measurements during a period encompassing the 5-month gravity decrease, remained within 4–6 cm over the entire volcano and within 2–4 cm in the zone covered by the microgravity profile. We review both gravity and elevation changes by a model assuming the formation of new cracks, uniformly distributed in a rectangular prism. The inversion problem was formulated following a global optimization approach based on the use of Genetic Algorithms. Although it is possible to explain the observed gravity changes by means of the proposed analytical formulation, the results show that calculated elevation changes are significantly higher than those observed. Two alternative hypotheses are proposed to account for this apparent discrepancy: (1) that the assumptions behind the analytical formulation, used to invert the data, are fallacious at Etna, and thus, numerical models should be utilized; (2) that a second process, enabling a considerable mass decrease to occur without deformation, acted together with the formation of new cracks in the source volume.     

Petrology of lavas from the 2004–2005 flank eruption of Mt. Etna,Italy: inferences on the dynamics of magma in the shallow plumbing system

Following the 2001 and 2002–2003 flank eruptions, activity resumed at Mt. Etna on 7 September 2004 and lasted for about 6 months. This paper presents new petrographic, major and trace element, and Sr–Nd isotope data from sequential samples collected during the entire 2004–2005 eruption. The progressive change of lava composition allowed defining three phases that correspond to different processes controlling magma dynamics inside the central volcano conduits. The compositional variability of products erupted up to 24 September is well reproduced by a fractional crystallization model that involves magma already stored at shallow depth since the 2002–2003 eruption. The progressive mixing of this magma with a distinct new one rising within the central conduits is clearly revealed by the composition of the products erupted from 24 September to 15 October. After 15 October, the contribution from the new magma gradually becomes predominant, and the efficiency of the mixing process ensures the emission of homogeneous products up to the end of the eruption. Our results give insights into the complex conditions of magma storage and evolution in the shallow plumbing system of Mt. Etna during a flank eruption. Furthermore, they confirm that the 2004–2005 activity at Etna was triggered by regional movements of the eastern flank of the volcano. They caused the opening of a complex fracture zone extending ESE which drained a magma stored at shallow depth since the 2002–2003 eruption. This process favored the ascent of a different magma in the central conduits, which began to be erupted on 24 September without any significant change in eruptive style, deformation, and seismicity until the end of eruption.     

Volcanic Tremor at Mt. Etna,Italy, Preceding and Accompanying the Eruption of July – August, 2001

The July 17 – August 9, 2001 flank eruption of Mt. Etna was preceded and accompanied by remarkable changes in volcanic tremor. Based on the records of stations belonging to the permanent seismic network deployed on the volcano, we analyze amplitude and frequency content of the seismic signal. We find considerable changes in the volcanic tremor which mark the transition to different styles of eruptive activity, e.g., lava fountains, phreatomagmatic activity, Strombolian explosions. In particular, the frequency content of the signal decreases from 5 Hz to 3 Hz at our reference station ETF during episodes of lava fountains, and further decreases at about 2 Hz throughout phases of intense lava emission. The frequency content and the ratios of the signal amplitude allow us to distinguish three seismic sources, i.e., the peripheral dike which fed the eruption, the reservoir which fed the lava fountains, and the central conduit. Based on the analysis of the amplitude decay of the signal, we highlight the migration of the dike from a depth of ca. 5 km to about 1 km between July 10 and 12. After the onset of the effusive phase, the distribution of the amplitude decay at our stations can be interpreted as the overall result of sources located within the first half kilometer from the surface. Although on a qualitative basis, our findings shed some light on the complex feeding system of Mt. Etna, and integrate other volcanological and geophysical studies which tackle the problem of magma replenishment for the July–August, 2001 flank eruption. We conclude that volcanic tremor is fundamental in monitoring Mt. Etna, not only as a marker of the different sources which act within the volcano edifice, but also of the diverse styles of eruptive activity. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Temporal variations in gravity at Mt. Etna (Italy) associated with the 1989 and 1991 eruptions

 Results are presented from 11 microgravity surveys on Mt. Etna between 1987 and 1993, a period including the major 1989 and 1991–1993 flank eruptions and subordinate 1990 activity. Measurements were made with LaCoste and Romberg D-62 and D-157 gravity meters along a network around the volcano between 1000 and 1900 m a.s.l. and, since 1992, a N–S summit profile. Gravity changes of as much as 200 μGal were observed at scales from the size of the summit region to that of the volcano. None was associated with significant changes in ground elevation. The data show an increase in gravity for 2 years before the 1989 eruption. The increase is attributed to the accumulation of magma (0.25–1.7×10⁹m³) in an elongate zone, oriented NNW–SSE, between 2.5 and 6 km below sea level. Part of this magma was injected into the volcanic pile to supply the 1989 and 1990 eruptions. It also probably fed the start of the 1991–1993 eruption, since this event was not preceded by significant gravity changes. A large gravity increase (up to 140 μGal) detected across the volcano between June and September 1992 is consistent with the arrival in the accumulation zone of 0.32–2.2×10⁹m³ of new magma, thus favoring continued flank effusion until 1993. A large gravity decrease (200 μGal) in the summit region marked the closing stages of the 1991–1993 event and is associated with magma drainage from the upper levels of Etna's central feeding system. Received: 15 July 1995 / Accepted: 27 October 1997     

Combining relative and absolute gravity measurements to enhance volcano monitoring

To achieve a balance between uncertainty and efficiency in gravity measurements, we have investigated the applicability of combined measurements of absolute and relative gravity as a hybrid method for volcano monitoring. Between 2007 and 2009, three hybrid gravity surveys were conducted at Mt Etna volcano, in June 2007, July 2008, and July 2009. Absolute gravity data were collected with two absolute gravimeters, which represent the state of the art in recent advances in ballistic gravimeter technology: (1) the commercial instrument FG5#238 and (2) the prototype instrument IMGC-02. We carried out several field surveys and confirmed that both the absolute gravimeters can still achieve a 10 μGal or better uncertainty even when they are operated in severe environmental conditions. The use of absolute gravimeters in a field survey of the summit area of Mt Etna is unprecedented. The annual changes of the gravity measured over 2007–2008 and 2008–2009 provide unequivocal evidence that during the 2007–2009 period, two main phenomena of subsurface mass redistribution occurred in distinct sectors of the volcano, accompanying different eruptive episodes. From 2007 to 2008, a gravity change of ?60?μGal was concentrated around the North-East Rift. This coincided with a zone affected by strong extensional tectonics, and hence might have been related to the opening of new voids. Between 2008 and 2009, a North-South elongate feature with a maximum gravity change of +80?μGal was identified in the summit craters area. This is interpreted to indicate recharge of a deep-intermediate magma storage zone, which could have occurred when the 2008–2009 eruption was still ongoing.     

Petrologic evidence of a complex plumbing system feeding the July–August 2001 eruption of Mt. Etna,Sicily, Italy

After the major 1991–1993 eruption, Mt. Etna resumed flank activity in July 2001 through a complex system of eruptive fissures cutting the NE and the S flanks of the volcano and feeding effusive activity, fire fountains, Strombolian and minor phreatomagmatic explosions. Throughout the eruption, magmas with different petrography and composition were erupted. The vents higher than 2,600 m a.s.l. (hereafter Upper vents, UV) erupted porphyritic, plagioclase-rich trachybasalt, typical of present-day summit and flank activity. Differently, the vents located at 2,550 and 2,100 m a.s.l. (hereafter Lower vents, LV) produced slightly more primitive trachybasalt dominated by large clinopyroxene, olivine and uncommon minerals for Etna such as amphibole, apatite and orthopyroxene and containing siliceous and cognate xenoliths. Petrologic investigations carried out on samples collected throughout the eruption provided insights into one of the most intriguing aspects of the 2001 activity, namely the coeval occurrence of distinct magmas. We interpret this evidence as the result of a complex plumbing system. It consists in two separate magma storage systems: a shallow one feeding the activity of the UV and a deeper and more complex storage related to the activity of LV. In this deep storage zone, which is thermally and compositionally zoned, the favourable conditions allow the crystallization of amphibole and the occurrence of cognate xenoliths representing wall cumulates. Throughout 2001 eruption, UV and LV magmas remain clearly distinct and ascended following different paths, ruling out the occurrence of mixing processes between them. Furthermore, integrating the 2001 eruption in the framework of summit activity occurring since 1995, we propose that the 2001 magma feeding the vents lower than 2,600 m a.s.l. is a precursor of a refilling event, which reached its peak during the 2002–2003 Etna flank eruption.     

A multi-disciplinary study of the 2002–03 Etna eruption: insights into a complex plumbing system

The 2002–03 Mt Etna flank eruption began on 26 October 2002 and finished on 28 January 2003, after three months of continuous explosive activity and discontinuous lava flow output. The eruption involved the opening of eruptive fissures on the NE and S flanks of the volcano, with lava flow output and fire fountaining until 5 November. After this date, the eruption continued exclusively on the S flank, with continuous explosive activity and lava flows active between 13 November and 28 January 2003. Multi-disciplinary data collected during the eruption (petrology, analyses of ash components, gas geochemistry, field surveys, thermal mapping and structural surveys) allowed us to analyse the dynamics of the eruption. The eruption was triggered either by (i) accumulation and eventual ascent of magma from depth or (ii) depressurisation of the edifice due to spreading of the eastern flank of the volcano. The extraordinary explosivity makes the 2002–03 eruption a unique event in the last 300 years, comparable only with La Montagnola 1763 and the 2001 Lower Vents eruptions. A notable feature of the eruption was also the simultaneous effusion of lavas with different composition and emplacement features. Magma erupted from the NE fissure represented the partially degassed magma fraction normally residing within the central conduits and the shallow plumbing system. The magma that erupted from the S fissure was the relatively undegassed, volatile-rich, buoyant fraction which drained the deep feeding system, bypassing the central conduits. This is typical of most Etnean eccentric eruptions. We believe that there is a high probability that Mount Etna has entered a new eruptive phase, with magma being supplied to a deep reservoir independent from the central conduit, that could periodically produce sufficient overpressure to propagate a dyke to the surface and generate further flank eruptions.Editorial responsibility: J. Donnelly-Nolan     

The occurrence of Mt Barca flank eruption in the evolution of the NW periphery of Etna volcano (Italy)

Geological surveys, tephrostratigraphic study, and ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age determinations have allowed us to chronologically constrain the geological evolution of the lower NW flank of Etna volcano and to reconstruct the eruptive style of the Mt Barca flank eruption. This peripheral sector of the Mt Etna edifice, corresponding to the upper Simeto valley, was invaded by the Ellittico volcano lava flows between 41 and 29 ka ago when the Mt Barca eruption occurred. The vent of this flank eruption is located at about 15 km away from the summit craters, close to the town of Bronte. The Mt Barca eruption was characterized by a vigorous explosive activity that produced pyroclastic deposits dispersed eastward and minor effusive activity with the emission of a 1.1-km-long lava flow. Explosive activity was characterized by a phreatomagmatic phase followed by a magmatic one. The geological setting of this peripheral sector of the volcano favors the interaction between the rising magma and the shallow groundwater hosted in the volcanic pile resting on the impermeable sedimentary basement. This process produced phreatomagmatic activity in the first phase of the eruption, forming a pyroclastic fall deposit made of high-density, poorly vesicular scoria lapilli and lithic clasts. Conversely, during the second phase, a typical strombolian fall deposit formed. In terms of hazard assessment, the possible occurrence of this type of highly explosive flank eruption, at lower elevation in the densely inhabited areas, increases the volcanic risk in the Etnean region and widens the already known hazard scenario.     

Deformation of Mount Etna, 1971–1974

Electro-optical distance measurements made on the summit of Mt. Etna from 1971 to 1974 show evidence of large surface deformation of the volcano. This deformation cannot be satisfactorily analysed in terms of the models of subsurface magma reservoirs of various geometries that have been previously used, as they have, for instance, on Kilauea in Hawaii. A model that gives a better fit between the observed and computed data involves horizontal, radial strain about an open, cylindrical magma column. In this model, strain is inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the centre of the deformation. This strain pattern is probably confined to the immediate vicinity of the summit vents and is of a different nature lower down the volcano. Tiltmeter, precise levelling and distance measurement data collected over the period of a small flank eruption in January–March 1974 indicate that the eruption was fed by magma through a conduit from the summit reservoir system of the Chasm and Bocca Nuova. Inflation of the summit around the Northeast Crater, which had been measured since 1971, continued despite the flank eruption, and eruptive activity was resumed at the Northeast Crater in September 1974.     

Volcanic structure of the southern sector of Mt. Etna after the 2001 and 2002 eruptions defined by magnetotelluric measurements

Two magnetotelluric (MT) surveys were carried out on the Mt. Etna volcano after two of the most intense eruptions of the last 30 years which took place in summer 2001 and winter 2002–2003. Surveying was pursued for two main reasons. First, we sought to contribute to the definition of the first-order structure and physico-chemical state (temperature, fluids, melts) of a volcano that has been extensively explored and monitored by means of various geophysical methods, but where only few electrical and electromagnetic surveys have been performed. Secondly, we acquired MT data in the same sites in the two different surveys with the aim of monitoring the possible changes of the first-order structure, since conditions are expected to vary on an active volcano such as Etna, and are supposed to be linked to the eruptive events. Soundings have been acquired in an E-W 10 km-long profile across the southern flank of Mt. Etna, at a distance of almost 6 km south from the Central Crater. The first survey was carried out three months after the 2001 eruption. Inverse models define a pronounced (4 km thickness) low resistivity section at a depth of about 1 km b.s.l. to the west. To the east, a low resistivity section is still present, but appears deeper, thinner and more resistive, and a shallow low resistivity anomaly also exists. The shallow anomaly to the east is tentatively correlated with altered and clayey volcanic units and/or temporary groundwater storage. The deep anomalies are interpreted as being due to melt storage at shallow depths which was not exhausted during the eruption. This would be confirmed by the abundance of lava erupted within one year from the end of the survey. The few good sites retrieved in the second survey, carried out a few weeks after the eruption of 2002–2003, confirm the picture defined in the first survey, and provide a better definition of the bottom of the deep anomaly located in the sedimentary basement.     

Compositionally zoned crystals and real-time degassing data reveal changes in magma transfer dynamics during the 2006 summit eruptive episodes of Mt. Etna

One of the major objectives of volcanology remains relating variations in surface monitoring signals to the magmatic processes at depth that cause these variations. We present a method that enables compositional and temporal information stored in zoning of minerals (olivine in this case) to be linked to observations of real-time degassing data. The integrated record may reveal details of the dynamics of gradual evolution of a plumbing system during eruption. We illustrate our approach using the 2006 summit eruptive episodes of Mt. Etna. We find that the history tracked by olivine crystals, and hence, most likely the magma pathways within the shallow plumbing system of Mt. Etna, differed considerably between the July and October eruptions. The compositional and temporal record preserved in the olivine zoning patterns reveal two mafic recharge events within months of each other (June and September 2006), and each of these magma supplies may have triggered the initiation of different eruptive cycles (July 14–24 and August 31–December 14). Correlation of these observations with gas monitoring data shows that the systematic rise of the CO₂/SO₂ gas values is associated with the gradual (pre- and syn-eruptive) supply of batches of gas-rich mafic magma into segments of Etna’s shallow plumbing system, where mixing with pre-existing and more evolved magma occurred.     

The contemporaneous emission of low-K and high-K trachybasalts and the role of the NE Rift during the 2002 eruptive event,Mt. Etna,Italy

Mount Etna volcano erupted almost simultaneously on its northeastern and southern flanks between October 27 and November 3, 2002. The eruption on the northeastern flank lasted for 8 days, while on the southern flank it continued for 3 months. The northeastern flank eruption was characterized by the opening of a long eruptive fracture system between 2,900 and 1,900 m.a.s.l. A detailed survey indicates that the fractures’ direction shifted during the opening from N10W (at the NE Crater, 2,900 m) to N45E (at its lowest portion, 1,900 m) and that distinct magma groups were erupted at distinct fracture segments. Based on their petrological features, three distinct groups of rocks have been identified. The first group, high-potassium porphyritic (HKP), is made up of porphyritic lavas with a Porphyritic Index (P.I.) of 20–32 and K₂O content higher than 2 wt%. The second group is represented by lavas and tephra with low modal phenocryst abundance (P.I. < 20) named here oligo-phyric (low-phyric), and K₂O content higher than 2 wt% (HKO, high-potassium oligophyric). The third group, low-potassium oligophyric (LKO), consists of tephra with oligophyric texture (P.I. < 20) but K₂O content < 2 wt%. K-rich magmas (HKP and HKO) are similar to the magma erupted on the southern flank, and geochemical variations within these groups can be accounted for by a variable degree of fractionation from a single parent magma. The K-poor magma (LKO), erupted only in the upper segment of the fracture, cannot be placed on the same liquid line of descent of the HK groups, and it is similar to the magmas that fed the activity of Etna volcano prior to the eruption of 1971. This is the first time since then that a magma of this composition has been documented at Mt. Etna, thus providing a strong indication for the existence of distinct batches of magma whose rise and differentiation are independent from the main conduit system. The evolution of this eruption provides evidence that the NE Rift plays a very active role in the activity of Mt. Etna volcano, and that its extensional tectonics allows the intrusion and residence of magma bodies at various depths, which can therefore differentiate independently from the main open conduit system.     

A syn-eruptive ground deformation episode measured by GPS,during the 2001 eruption on the upper southern flank of Mt Etna

Ground deformation occurring on the southern flank of Mt Etna volcano during the July–August 2001 eruption was monitored by GPS measurements along an E–W profile crossing the fissure system. This profile was measured eight times during the eruption, using the 'stop and go' semi-kinematic technique. Horizontal and vertical displacements between GPS surveys are reported for each station. The most significant event is a deformation episode occurring during the first week of the eruption, between 25–27 July. Displacements were measured on benchmarks close to the eruptive fissure and the tensile 1989 fracture. Data inversions for measured displacements were performed using the Okada model. The model shows the narrowing of the 2001 dyke accompanied by a dextral dislocation along an east-dipping fault, parallel to the 1989 fracture.Editorial responsibility: T. Druitt     

Tephra dispersal from Myojinsho, Japan, during its shallow submarine eruption of 1952–1953

 A new and detailed bathymetric map of the Myojinsho shallow submarine volcano provides a framework to interpret the physical volcanology of its 1952–1953 eruption, especially how the silicic pyroclasts, both primary and reworked, enlarged the volcano and were dispersed into the surrounding marine environment. Myojinsho, 420 km south of Tokyo along the Izu–Ogasawara arc, was the site of approximately 1000 phreatomagmatic explosions during the 12.5-month eruption. These explosions shattered growing dacite domes, producing dense clasts that immediately sank into the sea; minor amounts of pumice floated on the sea surface after some of these events. The Myojinsho cone has slopes of almost precisely 21° in the depth range 300–700 m.We interpret this to be the result of angle-of-repose deposition of submarine pyroclastic gravity flows that traveled downslope in all directions. Many of these gravity flows resulted from explosions and associated dome collapse, but others were likely triggered by the remobilization of debris temporarily deposited on the summit and steep upper slopes of the cone. Tephra was repeatedly carried into air in subaerial eruption columns and fell into the sea within 1–2 km of the volcano's summit, entering water as deep as 400 m. Because the fall velocity of single particles decreased by a factor of ∼30 in passing from air into the sea, we expect that the upper part of the water column was repeatedly choked with hyperconcentrations of fallout tephra. Gravitational instabilities within these tephra-choked regions could have formed vertical density currents that descended at velocities greater than those of the individual particles they contained. Upon reaching the sea floor, many of these currents probably continued to move downslope along Myojinsho's submarine slopes. Fine tephra was elutriated from the rubbly summit of the volcano by upwelling plumes of heated seawater that persisted for the entire duration of the eruption. Ocean currents carried this tephra to distal areas, where it presumably forms a pyroclastic component of deep-sea sediment. Received: 5 December 1996 / Accepted: 17 September 1997     

Fault-controlled Soil CO2 Degassing and Shallow Magma Bodies: Summit and Lower East Rift of Kilauea Volcano (Hawaii), 1997

Soil CO₂ flux measurements were carried out along traverses across mapped faults and eruptive fissures on the summit and the lower East Rift Zone of Kilauea volcano. Anomalous levels of soil degassing were found for 44 of the tectonic structures and 47 of the eruptive fissures intercepted by the surveyed profiles. This result contrasts with what was recently observed on Mt. Etna, where most of the surveyed faults were associated with anomalous soil degassing. The difference is probably related to the differences in the state of activity at the time when soil gas measurements were made: Kilauea was erupting, whereas Mt. Etna was quiescent although in a pre-eruptive stage. Unlike Mt. Etna, flank degassing on Kilauea is restricted to the tectonic and volcanic structures directly connected to the magma reservoir feeding the ongoing East Rift eruption or in areas of the Lower East Rift where other shallow, likely independent reservoirs are postulated. Anomalous soil degassing was also found in areas without surface evidence of faults, thus suggesting the possibility of previously unknown structures. Received: November 2003, revised: January 2005, accepted: January 2005     

Volcanic tremor at Mt. Etna: Inferences on magma dynamics during effusive and explosive activity

During 1999, the volcanic activity at Mt. Etna was both explosive and effusive at the summit craters: Strombolian activity, lava fountains and lava flows affected different areas of the volcano, involving three of the four summit craters. Results from analysis of the 1999 volcanic tremor features are shown at two different time scales. First, the long-term time variation of the features of the volcanic tremor (including spectral and polarization parameters), during the entire year, was compared with the evolution of the eruptive activity. This approach demonstrated the good agreement between tremor data and observed eruptive activity; the activation of different tremor sources was suggested. Then, a more refined analysis of the volcanic tremor, recorded during 14 lava fountain eruptions, was performed. In particular, a shift of the dominant frequencies towards lower values was noted which corresponds with increasing explosive activity. Similar behaviour in the frequency content has already been observed in other explosive eruptions at Mt. Etna as well as on other volcanoes. This behaviour has been explained in terms of either an increase in the tremor source dimension or a decrease in the sound speed in the magma within the conduit. These results confirm that the volcanic tremor is a powerful tool for better understanding the physical processes controlling explosive eruptions at Mt. Etna volcano.     

The exceptional activity and growth of the Southeast Crater, Mount Etna (Italy), between 1996 and 2001

Between 1971 and 2001, the Southeast Crater was the most productive of the four summit craters of Mount Etna, with activity that can be compared, on a global scale, to the opening phases of the Pu‘u ‘Ō‘ō-Kūpaianaha eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai‘i. The period of highest eruptive rate was between 1996 and 2001, when near-continuous activity occurred in five phases. These were characterized by a wide range of eruptive styles and intensities from quiet, non-explosive lava emission to brief, violent lava-fountaining episodes. Much of the cone growth occurred during these fountaining episodes, totaling 105 events. Many showed complex dynamics such as different eruptive styles at multiple vents, and resulted in the growth of minor edifices on the flanks of the Southeast Crater cone. Small pyroclastic flows were produced during some of the eruptive episodes, when oblique tephra jets showered the steep flanks of the cone with hot bombs and scoriae. Fluctuations in the eruptive style and eruption rates were controlled by a complex interplay between changes in the conduit geometry (including the growth of a shallow magma reservoir under the Southeast Crater), magma supply rates, and flank instability. During this period, volume calculations were made with the aid of GIS and image analysis of video footage obtained by a monitoring telecamera. Between 1996 and 2001, the bulk volume of the cone increased by ~36×10⁶ m³, giving a total (1971–2001) volume of ~72×10⁶ m³. At the same time, the cone gained ~105 m in height, reaching an elevation of about 3,300 m. The total DRE volume of the 1996–2001 products was ~90×10⁶m³. This mostly comprised lava flows (72×10⁶ m³) erupted at the summit and onto the flanks of the cone. These values indicate that the productivity of the Southeast Crater increased fourfold during 1996–2001 with respect to the previous 25 years, coinciding with a general increase in the eruptive output rates and eruption intensity at Etna. This phase of intense summit activity has been followed, since the summer of 2001, by a period of increased structural instability of the volcano, marked by a series of important flank eruptions.