THE ROLE OF VOLCANIC AND ANTHROPOGENIC ACTIVITIES IN CONTROLLING THE EROSION PROCESSES AT VULCANO ISLAND (ITALY)

The paper describes the erosion processes acting at La Fossa cone (Vulcano Island, Italy). La Fossa cone is a stratovolcano made up of pyroclastic deposits and lavas covered by tuffs from the last eruption, dated 1888-90. Its flanks are affected by intense water erosion phenomena leading to the formation of denudation surfaces due to sheet erosion, rills, gullies and small canyons. As a consequence of very intense rainfalls, episodic debris flows occur along main gullies and canyons. Fumarolic activity plays an important role in the control of erosion processes, being both an obstacle for the growth of vegetation and a weathering factor. The GIS analysis and comparison of geo-referenced map…