Geochemical evaluation of observed changes in volcanic activity during the 2007 eruption at Stromboli (Italy)

Abstract

On February 27, 2007 a new eruption started at Stromboli that lasted until April 2 and included a paroxysmal explosion on March 15. Geochemical monitoring carried out over several years revealed some appreciable variations that preceded both the eruption onset and the explosion. The carbon dioxide (CO2) flux from the soil at Pizzo Sopra La Fossa markedly increased a few days before the eruption onset, and continued during lava effusion to reach its maximum value (at 90,000 g m−2 d−1) a few days before the paroxysm. Almost contemporarily, the δ13CCO2 of the SC5 fumarole located in the summit area increased markedly, peaking just before the explosion (δ13CCO2~−1.8‰). Following the paroxysm, helium (He) isotopes measured in the gases dissolved in the basal thermal aquifer sharply increased. Almost contemporarily, the automatic station of CO2 flux recorded an anomalous degassing rate. Also temperatures and the vertical thermal gradient, which had been measured since November 2006 in the soil at Pizzo Sopra La Fossa, showed appreciable variabilities that lasted until the end of the eruption. The geochemical variations indicated the degassing of a new batch of volatile-rich magma that preceded and probably fed the paroxysm. The anomalous 3He/4He ratio suggested that the ascent of a second batch of volatile-rich magma toward the surface was probably responsible of the resumption of the ordinary activity. A comparison with the geochemical variations observed during the 2002–2003 eruption indicated that the 2007 eruption was less energetic.