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Variations in eruptive activity at Mount Etna in 2007-2008: state transitions revealed by pattern classification of volcanic tremor data
Author(s)
Type
Abstract
Language
English
Obiettivo Specifico
1.4. TTC - Sorveglianza sismologica delle aree vulcaniche attive
Status
Published
Conference Name
EGU General Assembly
Issued date
April 19, 2009
Conference Location
Vienna (Austria)
Abstract
Eruptive activity at Mount Etna in 2007-2008 consisted of 7 episodes of lava fountaining and periodic Strombolian
activity at the summit, followed by an eruption on the upper east flank that started on 13 May 2008 and is continuing
as of January 2009. The lava fountains originated from the Southeast Crater, the youngest of Etna’s four summit
craters, and showed a shift in the main locus of activity from the summit of the Southeast Crater cone to a new
vent on its lower eastern flank. The three lava fountaining episodes from the new vent in September and November
2007 and May 2008 were unusually long-lived (up to 10 hours, compared to <1 h during most of the previous
episodes from the Southeast Crater), and produced some of the longest lava flows (6.2 km) ever erupted from an
Etnean summit vent. Volcanic tremor data recorded during the same period by the seismic network of the Istituto
Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Sezione di Catania) showed significant variations related to the changes in
the eruptive activity.
We explore the application of a new software, which combines various methods of pattern classification based on
unsupervised learning, and which is used to detect state transitions in volcanic tremor data collected throughout
the aforementioned eruptive episodes. Particular attention is devoted to transitions from pre-eruptive to eruptive
activity, such as the onset of Strombolian activity, often heralding episodes of lava fountaining. We investigate
possible differences in the regimes of seismic radiation prior to summit (Strombolian or lava fountaining) and
flank activity (opening of fissures, short-lived lava fountaining, lava flow emission), and compare these to changes
in the patterns of eruptive activity based on field and other visual observations.
activity at the summit, followed by an eruption on the upper east flank that started on 13 May 2008 and is continuing
as of January 2009. The lava fountains originated from the Southeast Crater, the youngest of Etna’s four summit
craters, and showed a shift in the main locus of activity from the summit of the Southeast Crater cone to a new
vent on its lower eastern flank. The three lava fountaining episodes from the new vent in September and November
2007 and May 2008 were unusually long-lived (up to 10 hours, compared to <1 h during most of the previous
episodes from the Southeast Crater), and produced some of the longest lava flows (6.2 km) ever erupted from an
Etnean summit vent. Volcanic tremor data recorded during the same period by the seismic network of the Istituto
Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (Sezione di Catania) showed significant variations related to the changes in
the eruptive activity.
We explore the application of a new software, which combines various methods of pattern classification based on
unsupervised learning, and which is used to detect state transitions in volcanic tremor data collected throughout
the aforementioned eruptive episodes. Particular attention is devoted to transitions from pre-eruptive to eruptive
activity, such as the onset of Strombolian activity, often heralding episodes of lava fountaining. We investigate
possible differences in the regimes of seismic radiation prior to summit (Strombolian or lava fountaining) and
flank activity (opening of fissures, short-lived lava fountaining, lava flow emission), and compare these to changes
in the patterns of eruptive activity based on field and other visual observations.
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