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Variability in composition and physical properties of the sedimentary basement of Mt Etna, Italy
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
1V. Storia e struttura dei sistemi vulcanici
Status
Published
JCR Journal
JCR Journal
Peer review journal
Yes
Title of the book
Issue/vol(year)
/302(2015)
ISSN
0377-0273
Electronic ISSN
1872-6097
Publisher
Elsevier Science Limited
Pages (printed)
102-116
Issued date
June 19, 2015
Keywords
Abstract
The sub-volcanic basement at Mt Etna (Italy) comprises thick sedimentary sequences. An understanding of the
physical, mechanical, and microstructural properties of these sequences, and an appreciation of their variability,
is important for an accurate assessment of the structural stability of Mt Etna. Here, we present a combined field
and laboratory study in which we explore the extent of variability of the materials comprising the sedimentary
basement of Mt Etna. To this end, we sampled twelve different lithological units that span the sediments of the
Apenninic-Maghrebian Chain (from both the Sicilide and Ionides sequences) and the Hyblean Plateau. X-ray
diffraction analysis of the blocks collected show that calcite and quartz are the predominant mineral phases. Textural
analysis highlights the wide variability in rock microstructures,with features such as the presence/absence
of fractures or veins, pore size and shape, and grain size and shape varying tremendously between the samples.
One consequence of this microstructural, textural, and mineralogical variability is that the rock units are
characterised by very different values of porosity, P-wave velocity, uniaxial compressive strength, and static
Young’s modulus. For example, strength and Young’s modulus vary by a factor of twenty and an order of magnitude,
respectively. Our study affirms the vast heterogeneity of the sub-volcanic sedimentary basement of Mt Etna
and, on this basis, weurge cautionwhen selecting potentially oversimplified input parameters formodels of flank
stability.
physical, mechanical, and microstructural properties of these sequences, and an appreciation of their variability,
is important for an accurate assessment of the structural stability of Mt Etna. Here, we present a combined field
and laboratory study in which we explore the extent of variability of the materials comprising the sedimentary
basement of Mt Etna. To this end, we sampled twelve different lithological units that span the sediments of the
Apenninic-Maghrebian Chain (from both the Sicilide and Ionides sequences) and the Hyblean Plateau. X-ray
diffraction analysis of the blocks collected show that calcite and quartz are the predominant mineral phases. Textural
analysis highlights the wide variability in rock microstructures,with features such as the presence/absence
of fractures or veins, pore size and shape, and grain size and shape varying tremendously between the samples.
One consequence of this microstructural, textural, and mineralogical variability is that the rock units are
characterised by very different values of porosity, P-wave velocity, uniaxial compressive strength, and static
Young’s modulus. For example, strength and Young’s modulus vary by a factor of twenty and an order of magnitude,
respectively. Our study affirms the vast heterogeneity of the sub-volcanic sedimentary basement of Mt Etna
and, on this basis, weurge cautionwhen selecting potentially oversimplified input parameters formodels of flank
stability.
Type
article
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Wiesmaier et al_2015.pdf
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