Search results for " etna"
showing 10 items of 83 documents
Etna. Miti e riti della "montagna" sacra
2019
L’Etna con la sua immensa mole fumante, la sua incessante attività vulcanica, il potere distruttivo e generativo delle sue lave, i suoi mutevoli paesaggi, ha costituito nei millenni un riferimento costante dell’immaginario isolano, offrendosi come inesauribile sorgente di affabulazione mitopoietica, teatro epico e lirico di vita e di morte, soggetto e scenario di riti, di miti, di leggende molteplici. Colosso dall’indole incostante e dalla potenza terrifica, vorace distruttore di tuguri e palazzi costruiti della sua stessa pietra, di campi e di piantagioni prima nutriti dalla sua stessa lava, l’Etna contiene e rappresenta, materialmente e simbolicamente, gli opposti: l’alto e il basso, la t…
Il Monte Etna in una macchina dei fuochi del 1693 a Palermo
2012
Fra le celebrazioni dedicate annualmente alla santa protettrice di Palermo, Santa Rosalia, in età barocca, il “festino” del 1693, celebrato pochi mesi dopo il sisma che aveva devastato la Sicilia sud-orientale, spicca per il marcato carattere di eccezionalità che gli si volle attribuire, con l'evidente volontà di esorcizzare l'immane catastrofe che aveva colpito l'isola. Tutti gli apparati furono pensati in relazione al tema dei terremoti. Si scelse in particolare di raffigurare il Monte Etna nella macchina dei fuochi, adottando un modello per nulla inedito; d’altronde il parallelismo fra il vulcano in eruzione e una grande macchina pirotecnica riusciva di immediata comprensione, finendo pe…
Periodic volcanic degassing behavior: The Mount Etna example
2013
[1] In contrast to the seismic and infrasonic energy released from quiescent and erupting volcanoes, which have long been known to manifest episodes of highly periodic behavior, the spectral properties of volcanic gas flux time series remain poorly constrained, due to a previous lack of hightemporal resolution gas-sensing techniques. Here we report on SO2 flux measurements, performed on Mount Etna with a novel UV imaging technique of unprecedented sampling frequency (0.5Hz), which reveal, for the first time, a rapid periodic structure in degassing from this target. These gas flux modulations have considerable temporal variability in their characteristics and involve two period bands: 40–250…
Geochemical mapping of magmatic gas-water-rock interactions in the aquifer of Mount Etna volcano
2001
Geogenic element behaviour in soil-rainwater interaction at Mt Etna, Sicily: preliminary results
2008
Active volcanoes emit considerable amounts of contaminants such as As, Se and V. Previous studies have shown that the volcanic activity at Mt Etna (Sicily) has a strong influence on local rainwater compositions. However to date, the behaviour of trace elements in the soils around Mt Etna is poorly understood. 4-hr batch experiments have been performed with 1:5 soil solutions of air-dried soil (fraction <2 mm) and synthetic (acid) rainwater (using either deionized water with a pH of ~6 or a ~500 ppm of sulphuric acid solution with a pH of ~2). In general trace element concentrations are more enriched in soil solutions with low pH (e.g. enrichment factor (EF) acid compared to neutral soil sol…
Coseismic Damage at an Archaeological Site in Sicily, Italy: Evidence of Roman Age Earthquake Surface Faulting
2018
Archaeoseismology can provide a useful chronological tool for constraining earthquakes and documenting significant evidence that would otherwise be lost. In this paper, we report a case of surface faulting on ancient man-made structures belonging to the archaeological site of Santa Venera al Pozzo situated along the eastern flank of Mt. Etna volcano in eastern Sicily (southern Italy), which is affected by well-developed tectonic faults. Geological surveys highlight a set of fractures affecting the archaeological ruins, suggesting the occurrence of a capable fault zone across the area. An integrated geophysical survey was carried out in order to identify the main subsurface tectonic disconti…
Insights into magma and fluid transfer at Mount Etna by a multiparametric approach: A model of the events leading to the 2011 eruptive cycle
2013
The use of tree-rings and foliage as an archive of volcanogenic cation deposition.
2007
Tree cores (Pinus nigra ssp. laricio) and leaves (Castanea sativa) from the flanks of Mount Etna, Sicily were analysed by ICP-MS to investigate whether volcanogenic cations within plant material provide an archive of a volcano's temporal and spatial depositional influence. There is significant compositional variability both within and between trees, but no systematic dendrochemical correlation with periods of effusive, explosive or increased degassing activity. Dendrochemistry does not provide a record of persistent but fluctuating volcanic activity. Foliar levels of bioaccumulated cations correspond to modelled plume transport patterns, and map short-term volcanic fumigation. Around the fl…
In-soil radon anomalies as precursors of earthquakes: A case study in the SE slope of Mt. Etna in a period of quite stable weather conditions
2012
In-soil radon concentrations as well as climatic parameters (temperature, atmospheric pressure and relative humidity) were collected in St. Venerina (Eastern Sicily - Italy) from March 19th to May 22nd 2009, close to an active fault system called Timpe Fault System (TFS), which is strictly linked to the geodynamics of Mt. Etna. During the monitoring period no drastic climatic variations were observed and, on the other hand, important seismic events were recorded close to the monitoring site. A seismic swarm composed of 5 earthquakes was observed in the Milo area on March 25th (M-max = 2.7) at just 5.1 km from the site, and on May 13th an earthquake of 3.6 magnitude was recorded in the terri…
Noble Gases Investigation on Etnean Volcanic Gases and on the Erupted Products During the 2001-2006 Period
2008
Data acquired during the last 20 years of geochemical monitoring of volcanic gases lead us to better understand how volcanoes work. According to theoretical and experimental investigations, both the chemical and isotopic changes in sampled volcanic gases have been interpreted in terms of magma ascent using the models proposed by Nuccio & Paonita, (2001) and Caracausi et al. (2003). On the basis of numerical simulations of volatile degassing, we have been able to recognize episodes of magma migration from deeper reservoirs of Mount Etna to the shallower storage volume, until magma is erupted. The 3He/4He isotope ratios of gas emitted at the periphery of Mount Etna volcanic edifice exhibit sy…