Seismic footprints of shallow dyke propagation at Etna, Italy

Abstract

One of the key issues in forecasting volcanic eruptions is to detect signals that can track the propagation of dykes towards the surface. Continuous monitoring of active volcanoes helps significantly in achieving this goal. The seismic data presented here are unique, as they document surface faulting processes close (tens to a few hundred meters) to their source, namely the dyke tip. They originated nearby - and under - a seismic station that was subsequently destroyed by lava flows during eruptive activity at Etna volcano, Italy, in 2013. On February 20, a ~600 m-long and ~120 m wide NW-SE fracture field opened at an altitude between 2750 and 2900 m. The consequent rock dislocation caused the station to tilt and offset the seismic signal temporarily. Data acquisition continued until the arrival of the lava flow that led to the breakdown of the transmission system. Shallow ground fracturing and repeated low-frequency oscillations occurred during two stages in which the seismic signal underwent a maximum offset ~2.57 E+04 nm/s. Bridging instrumental recordings, fieldwork and conceptual modelling, these data are interpreted as the seismic footprints of a magmatic dyke intrusion that moved at speed ~0.02 m/s (first stage) and 0.46 m/s (second stage).