http://hdl.handle.net/2122/294 Search the Channel search http://www.earth-prints.org/simple-search http://hdl.handle.net/2122/4145 Title: An exceptional case of endogenous lava dome growth <br/> <br/>Authors: Behncke, B.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; Neri, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; Carniel, R.; Dipartimento di Georisorse e Territorio, Università di Udine, Via Cotonificio, 114; 33100 Udine, Italy <br/> <br/>Abstract: During an eruption at the Bocca Nuova, one of the summit craters of Mt. Etna, in October-November 1999 a part of the crater floor near its WNW rim was uplifted to form a dome-shaped feature that consisted of older lava and pyroclastics filling the crater. This endogenous dome grew rapidly over the crater rim, thus being perched precariously over the steep outer slope of the Bocca Nuova, and near-continuous collapse of its steep flanks generated swiftly moving pyroclastic avalanches over a period of several hours. These avalanches advanced at speeds of 10-20 m s-1 and extended up to 0.7 km from their source on top of lavas emplaced immediately before. Their deposits were subsequently covered by lava flows that issued from vents below the front of the dome and from the Bocca Nuova itself. Growth of the dome was caused by the vertical intrusion of magma in the marginal W part of the crater, which deformed and uplifted previously emplaced, still hot and plastically deformable eruptive products filling the crater. The resulting avalanches had all characteristics of pyroclastic flows spawned by collapse of unstable flanks of lava domes, but in this case the magma involved was of mafic (hawaiitic) composition and would have, under normal circumstances, produced fluid lava flows. The formation of the dome and the generation of the pyroclastic avalanches owe their occurrence to the rheological properties of the eruptive products filling the crater, which were transformed into the dome, and to the morphological configuration of the Bocca Nuova and its surroundings. The density contrast between successive erupted products may also have played a role. Although events of this type are to be considered exceptional at Etna, their recurrence might represent a serious hazard to visitors to the summit area. http://hdl.handle.net/2122/4144 Title: Ground deformation due to tectonic, hydrothermal, gravity, hydrogeological, and anthropic processes in the Campania Region (Southern Italy) from Permanent Scatterers Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry <br/> <br/>Authors: Vilardo, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Ventura, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia; Terranova, C.; Regione Campania; Matano, F.; Regione Campania; Nardò, S.; Regione Campania <br/> <br/>Abstract: We apply the Permanent Scatterers Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (PSInSAR) technique to the Campania Region (Southern Italy), which includes the Southern Apennines chain and Plio-Quaternary structural depressions, with the aim to detect ground displacements at a regional scale. The study area, which extends for 13600 km2, is characterized by intense urbanization, active volcanoes (Phlegraean Fields, Vesuvius and Ischia), seismogenic structures, landslides, hydrogeological instability. PSInSAR technique allows us to identify a set of radar benchmarks (PS) where accurate displacement measurements can be carried out. About 1.7 106 PS are identified by processing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired in ascending and descending orbits from 1992 to 2001 by the European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS). The PSInSAR application at regional scale detected ground deformations ranging from +28 to −39 mm/yr. The calculated velocity values are consistent with the available GPS and levelling data from selected areas. We identify volcanic areas in which the deformation is mainly related to the depressurization of the local hydrothermal systems, and recognize deformations along seismogenic and aseismic NNW-SSE and NW-SE faults. The deformations localized along the Southern Apennines chain are mainly related to landslides while those occurring in the plains are due to subsidence processes induced by intensive drainage from wells, i.e. anthropic activity. The review of 9 years of SAR data show that tectonic, volcanic/hydrothermal, gravity, and anthropic processes are responsible for the ground deformation of Campania. The proposed joint interpretation of deformation fields related to natural and anthopogenic factors provides a comprehensive view of the dynamics of the Earth surface. http://hdl.handle.net/2122/4140 Title: Structural features of the 2007 Stromboli eruption <br/> <br/>Authors: Neri, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; Lanzafame, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia <br/> <br/>Abstract: On 27 February 2007, two NE–SW and NNW–SSE dike-fed effusive vents opened to the North (at 650 and 400 m above sea level, asl) of the summit craters at Stromboli, forming a fissure parallel to the inner walls of the Sciara del Fuoco (SdF) sector collapse depression. The formation of these vents was soon followed by rapid subsidence of the summit crater area. This partly obstructed the central conduit, temporarily choking the fissure and increasing the deformation of the upper part of SdF. The reactivation of the NNW–SSE vent and the opening of a new vent located at 500 m asl, fed by a second dike, released the internal pressure and surface deformation ceased. The eruption then continued again from the 400 m vent, after a summit explosion on 15 March, until ending in early April after a progressive decrease of magma output. Repeated NE–SW dike intrusions have occurred in recent years, close to the upper SE limit of the SdF. In that zone, named Bastimento, the eruptive fractures traced the discontinuities that borders the SdF, increasing the risk of triggering new sector collapse. Whereas the NE–SW trending structures lie along the regional volcanostructural trend of the Aeolian arc through Stromboli, the NNW–SSE vents are oblique to this trend and may be controlled by the anomalous stress field within the unstable flank of the SdF. Another fundamental aspect of the 2007 eruption is the collapse of the central conduit, due to the rapid and deep magma drainage linked to the opening of the 400 m vent. The intrusion of dikes and development of flank vents during the 2007 eruption could possibly have triggered catastrophic landslides and related tsunami or eruptive paroxysms, but the opening of new effusive vents released the internal pressures, diminishing the hazard. http://hdl.handle.net/2122/4033 Title: Pyroclastic density currents resulting from the interaction of basaltic magma with hydrothermally altered rock: an example from the 2006 summit eruptions of Mount Etna, Italy <br/> <br/>Authors: Behncke, B.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; Calvari, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; Giammanco, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; Neri, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; Pinkerton, H.; Department of Environmental Science, Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster LA1 4YQ, UK <br/> <br/>Abstract: Abstract After 16 months of quiescence, Mount Etna began to erupt again in mid-July 2006. The activity was concentrated at and around the Southeast Crater (SEC), one of the four craters on the summit of Etna, and eruptive activity continued intermittently for 5 months. During this period, numerous vents displayed a wide range of eruptive styles at different times. Virtually all explosive activities took place at vents at the summit of the SEC and on its flanks. Eruptive episodes, which lasted from 1 day to 2 weeks, became shorter and more violent with time. Volcanic activity at these vents was often accompanied by dramatic mass-wasting processes such as collapse of parts of the cone, highly unusual flowage processes involving both old rocks and fresh magmatic material, and magma– water interaction. The most dramatic events took place on 16 November, when numerous rockfalls and pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) were generated during the opening of a large fracture on the SE flank of the SEC cone. The largest PDCs were clearly triggered explosively, and there is evidence that much of the energy was generated during the interaction of intruding magma with wet rocks on the cone’s flanks. The most mobile PDCs traveled up to 1 km from their source. This previously unknown process on Etna may not be unique on this volcano and is likely to have taken place on other volcanoes. It represents a newly recognized hazard to those who visit and work in the vicinity of the summit of Etna.