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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Keywords

  • Etna volcano
  • long period events
  • source location

Index Terms

  • Seismology: Volcano seismology
  • Volcanology: Volcano monitoring
  • Seismology: Seismicity and tectonics
  • Volcanology: Eruption mechanisms and flow emplacement
  • Tectonophysics: Physics of magma and magma bodies

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 36, L24305, 5 PP., 2009
doi:10.1029/2009GL041273

Source geometry from exceptionally high resolution long period event observations at Mt Etna during the 2008 eruption

Louis De Barros

School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Christopher J. Bean

School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Ivan Lokmer

School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Gilberto Saccorotti

Sezione di Pisa, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Pisa, Italy

Luciano Zuccarello

School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Sezione di Catania, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Catania, Italy

Gareth S. O'Brien

School of Geological Sciences, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Jean-Philippe Métaxian

LGIT, Université de Savoie, IRD, CNRS, Chambéry, France

Domenico Patanè

Sezione di Catania, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Catania, Italy

During the second half of June, 2008, 50 broadband seismic stations were deployed on Mt Etna volcano in close proximity to the summit, allowing us to observe seismic activity with exceptionally high resolution. 129 long period events (LP) with dominant frequencies ranging between 0.3 and 1.2 Hz, were extracted from this dataset. These events form two families of similar waveforms with different temporal distributions. Event locations are performed by cross-correlating signals for all pairs of stations in a two-step scheme. In the first step, the absolute location of the centre of the clusters was found. In the second step, all events are located using this position. The hypocentres are found at shallow depths (20 to 700 m deep) below the summit craters. The very high location resolution allows us to detect the temporal migration of the events along a dike-like structure and 2 pipe shaped bodies, yielding an unprecedented view of some elements of the shallow plumbing system at Mount Etna. These events do not seem to be a direct indicator of the ongoing lava flow or magma upwelling.

Received 12 October 2009; accepted 19 November 2009; published 23 December 2009.

Citation: De Barros, L., C. J. Bean, I. Lokmer, G. Saccorotti, L. Zuccarello, G. S. O'Brien, J.-P. Métaxian, and D. Patanè (2009), Source geometry from exceptionally high resolution long period event observations at Mt Etna during the 2008 eruption, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L24305, doi:10.1029/2009GL041273.

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