Search results for "ground deformation"

Ground deformation reveals the scale-invariant conduit dynamics driving explosive basaltic eruptions

2021

The mild activity of basaltic volcanoes is punctuated by violent explosive eruptions that occur without obvious precursors. Modelling the source processes of these sudden blasts is challenging. Here, we use two decades of ground deformation (tilt) records from Stromboli volcano to shed light, with unprecedented detail, on the short-term (minute-scale) conduit processes that drive such violent volcanic eruptions. We find that explosive eruptions, with source parameters spanning seven orders of magnitude, all share a common pre-blast ground inflation trend. We explain this exponential inflation using a model in which pressure build-up is caused by the rapid expansion of volatile-rich magma ri…

Aseismic strain episodes at Campi Flegrei Caldera, Italy

2021

Since 2004 a research project has been developed to monitor subsurface deformation of Italian volcanoes using borehole strainmeters and long-baseline tiltmeters. Six Sacks-Evertson dilatometers were installed around Campi Flegrei caldera and Vesuvius during 2004–2005 (Scarpa et al., 2007), and in 2008 these instruments were supplemented by two arrays of 28–280 m long water-tube tiltmeters in underground tunnels. Relevant strainmeter and tiltmeter data have been collected and analysed from the instruments installed near Campi Flegrei caldera during the recent unrest episodes. In the period 2004–2005 strain, tilt and GPS data from Campi Flegrei indicate the onset of surface deformation that a…

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

Volcano seismicity and ground deformation unveil the gravity-driven magma discharge dynamics of a volcanic eruption.

2015

Effusive eruptions are explained as the mechanism by which volcanoes restore the equilibrium perturbed by magma rising in a chamber deep in the crust. Seismic, ground deformation and topographic measurements are compared with effusion rate during the 2007 Stromboli eruption, drawing an eruptive scenario that shifts our attention from the interior of the crust to the surface. The eruption is modelled as a gravity-driven drainage of magma stored in the volcanic edifice with a minor contribution of magma supplied at a steady rate from a deep reservoir. Here we show that the discharge rate can be predicted by the contraction of the volcano edifice and that the very-long-period seismicity migrat…

Architecture of the NYT caldera and inner resurgent dome (Pozzuoli Bay, Campi Flegrei): new insights from seismic reflection and DInSAR data

2016

The Campi Flegrei and its offshore prolongation (Pozzuoli Bay) are a volcanic area dominated by a collapse caldera associated with the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) eruption, occurred at ~15 ka BP, and by an intra-caldera resurgent dome. We present new insights into: a) the geometry and kinematics of faults formed inside and at the edge of the caldera, b) the architecture of the caldera and the resurgent dome, and c) the relationship between the structural elements of the caldera and ground deformation. This work is based on the integration of single- and multi- channel seismic, swath bathymetry data and ground deformation maps. The main results highlight that the NYT caldera, offshore, is c…

Architecture of the NYT caldera and inner resurgent dome (Pozzuoli Bay, Campi Flegrei): new insights from seismic reflection and DInSAR data

2016

The Campi Flegrei and its offshore prolongation (Pozzuoli Bay) are a volcanic area dominated by a collapse caldera associated with the Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) eruption, occurred at ~15 ka BP, and by an intra-caldera resurgent dome. We present new insights into: a) the geometry and kinematics of faults formed inside the caldera, b) the architecture of the resurgent dome, and c) the relationship between the structural elements of the resurgent dome and ground deformations. This work is based on the integration of high- and ultra-high resolution seismic data, swath bathymetry data and ground deformation maps. The main results highlight that the NYT caldera, offshore, is characterized by a…

In situ Volcano Monitoring: Present and Future

2015

During the last couple of decades, volcanology has evolved significantly, allowing for an improved understanding of volcanic processes preceding, accompanying and following eruptive events. Key elements to these achievements are the huge amounts of high quality data being collected by networks of increasingly sensitive instruments deployed at active volcanoes. The diffusion of continuous, precise measurements of: (1) wide-band ground displacement; (2) flux and chemistry of volatile emissions; and (3) the spatio-temporal variations of potential fields (e.g., gravity) now permit imaging the mechanism that controls mass transfer underneath volcanoes to an unprecedented level of detail. Joined …