Stress, strain and mass changes at Mt. Etna during the period between the 1991–93 and 2001 flank eruptions

Abstract

During the ~8-year period between the 1991–93 and 2001 flank eruptions, the eruptive activity of Mt. Etna was confined to the summit craters. Deformation and tomography studies indicate that this activity was fed by a magma accumulation zone centered NE of the summit, at a depth of 5 to 9 km below sea level. The most significant gravity changesmeasured during the same period were induced bymass redistributions at shallower depth below the southeastern flank of the volcano, whereminor ground deformationwas observed (i.e., vertical displacementswithin 2cm). The mismatch between the position of pressure and mass sources is difficult to explain under the assumption that both are directly related to magma dynamics. Past studies have suggested that the gravity changes observed during 1994–2001 may primarily reflect changes in the rate of microfracturing along the NNW–SSE fracture/ weakness zone (FWZ) that crosses the SE slope of Etna. We use the finite element method to shed new light on the complex relations between stress, strain and mass changes that occurred at Etna during the studied period. In particular, following previous results on the degradation of themechanical properties of rocks,we performa set of simulations assuming that the part of themedium containing the FWZ is characterized by a lower Young's modulus than would be expected from interpolation of tomographic data.Wefind that the presence of theFWZ creates a distortion of the displacement field induced by the deeper pressure source, locally resulting in a weak extensional regime. This finding supports the hypothesis of a cause–effect relationship between pressurization beneath theNWflank and tensile extension beneath the SE slope of the volcano. Wepropose that this extensional regime enhanced the propagation of pressurized gas, that, in turn, amplified the tensile strain across the FWZ. We also find that decreasing the value of Young'smodulus in the FWZ allows for a larger amount of extension at depth, with no change in the magnitude of surface displacements. This result provides an indication of how the changes in the rate of microfracturing at depth,which are needed to induce the observed gravity changes,might have occurred without large ground deformation.