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JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. 110, B10205, doi:10.1029/2005JB003688, 2005

Feedback processes between magmatic events and flank movement at Mount Etna (Italy) during the 2002–2003 eruption

Thomas R. Walter

GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany


Valerio Acocella

Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Roma TRE, Rome, Italy


Marco Neri

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Catania, Italy


Falk Amelung

Marine Geology and Geophysics Division, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, USA


Abstract

The 2002–2003 Mount Etna eruption and the associated deformation provide a unique possibility to study the relationships between volcanism and volcano instability. The sequence started with movement of the eastern volcano flank and was associated with earthquakes and the formation of surface ruptures. Then the eruption occurred from fissures at the north and south rift zones and was followed by additional flank movement, seismic swarms, and surface ruptures. The overall area of flank movement implicated more than 700 km2. In this paper we investigate how episodes of magmatic events (eruptions and intrusions) and flank movement interact. In three-dimensional numerical models we simulate the volcano-tectonic events and calculate changes in the static stress field. The models suggest that the 2002–2003 events are the result of interrelated processes consisting of (1) the preeruptive intrusion of magma and inflation of the volcano, which induced (2) the movement of the volcano east flank, (3) facilitated the eruption, and (4) led to the slip of a much larger part of the eastern and southeastern flanks. Understanding the precise interconnectivity of these processes may help to forecast the behavior during future volcanic crisis at Mount Etna, which is crucial in minimizing volcanic and seismic hazards on the highly populated eastern sector of the volcano.

Received 14 February 2005; accepted 15 July 2005; published 27 October 2005.

Keywords: Mount Etna; flank instability; volcano deformation; volcano-tectonic interaction; elastic stress field modeling.

Index Terms: 8414 Volcanology: Eruption mechanisms and flow emplacement; 8419 Volcanology: Volcano monitoring (7280); 8434 Volcanology: Magma migration and fragmentation; 8439 Volcanology: Physics and chemistry of magma bodies; 8488 Volcanology: Volcanic hazards and risks.

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Citation: Walter, T. R., V. Acocella, M. Neri, and F. Amelung (2005), Feedback processes between magmatic events and flank movement at Mount Etna (Italy) during the 2002–2003 eruption, J. Geophys. Res., 110, B10205, doi:10.1029/2005JB003688.