Shallow intrusive processes during 2002–2004 and current volcanic activity on Mt. Etna

The understanding of shallow intrusive processes during 2002–2004, as well as the causes of the volcano-tectonic seismicity, has been improved at Mt. Etna by comparing the inversion results from GPS data with accurate 3D hypocentral locations. Our findings indicate that short periods of deflation (about six months) were followed by recharging phases after the end of both the 2001 and 2002–2003 flank eruptions. During the last recharging phase (June 2003–August 2004), modeling results and seismic observations suggest a composite mechanism of re-injection of magma into the rift-zones (S and NE), similar to that leading to the 2002–2003 flank eruption, which could have triggered the summit eruption started on September 7, 2004.

Aloisi, M., A. Bonaccorso, S. Gambino, M. Mattia, and G. Puglisi (2003), Etna 2002 eruption imaged from continuous tilt and GPS data, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(23), 2214, doi:10.1029/2003GL018896.[AGU]
Bonaccorso, A., M. Aloisi, and M. Mattia (2002), Dike emplacement forerunning the Etna July 2001 eruption modeled through continuous tilt and GPS data, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(13), 1624, doi:10.1029/2001GL014397.[AGU]
Bonaccorso, A., S. D'Amico, M. Mattia, and D. Patanè (2004), Intrusive mechanisms at Mt. Etna forerunning the July–August 2001 eruption, Pure Appl. Geophys., 161(7), 1469–1487.[CrossRef]
De Gori, P., C. Chiarabba, and D. Patanè (2005), Qp structure of Mt. Etna: Constraints for the physics of the plumbing system, J. Geophys. Res., doi:10.1029/2003JB002875, in press.[AGU]
Gambino, S., A. Mostaccio, D. Patanè, L. Scarfì, and A. Ursino (2004), High-precision locations of the microseismicity preceding the 2002–2003 Mt. Etna eruption, Geophys. Res. Lett., 31, L18604, doi:10.1029/2004GL020499.[AGU]
Gutenberg, B., and D. F. Richter (1956), Magnitude and energy of earthquakes, Ann. Geophys., 9, 1–15.
Lundgren, P., and P. A. Rosen (2003), Source model for the 2001 flank eruption of Mt. Etna volcano, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(7), 1388, doi:10.1029/2002GL016774.[AGU]
Mogi, K. (1958), Relation between the eruptions of various volcanoes and the deformation of the ground surfaces around them, Bull. Earthquake Res. Inst. Univ. Tokyo, 36, 99–134.
Okada, Y. (1985), Surface deformation due to shear and tensile faults in half-space, Bull. Seismol. Soc. Am., 75, 1135–1154.
Patanè, D., C. Chiarabba, O. Cocina, P. De Gori, M. Moretti, and E. Boschi (2002), Tomographic images and 3D earthquake locations of the seismic swarm preceding the 2001 Mt. Etna eruption: Evidence for a dyke intrusion, Geophys. Res. Lett., 29(10), 1497, doi:10.1029/2001GL014391.[AGU]
Patanè, D., C. Chiarabba, P. De Gori, and A. Bonaccorso (2003), Magma ascent and the pressurization of Mt. Etna's volcanic system, Science, 299, 2061–2063.[CrossRef]
Patanè, D., O. Cocina, S. Falsaperla, E. Privitera, and S. Spampinato (2004), Mt. Etna volcano: A seismological framework, in Mt. Etna: Volcano Laboratory, Geophys. Monogr. Ser., vol. 143, edited by A. Bonaccorso et al., pp. 147–165, AGU, Washington, D. C.
Puglisi, G., and A. Bonforte (2004), Dynamics of Mount Etna volcano inferred from static and kinematic GPS measurements, J. Geophys. Res., 109, B11404, doi:10.1029/2003JB002878.[AGU]
Thurber, C. H. (1993), Local earthquake tomography: Velocity and VP/VS-theory, in Seismic Tomography: Theory and Practice, edited by H. M. Iyer and K. Hirahara, pp. 563–583, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Fla.
Torelli, L., G. Mario, G. Mazzoldi, and D. Peis (1998), Plio-Quaternary tectonic evolution and structure of the Catania foredeep, the northern Hyblean Plateau and the Ionian shelf (SE Sicily), Tectonophysics, 298, 209–221.[CrossRef]