Magnetic mapping of submarine hydrothermal systems at Marsili and Palinuro volcanoes from deep-towed magnetometer data

We collected near-bottom magnetic data at Marsili and Palinuro volcanoes in the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, by adding a magnetometer to a deep-towed sidescan sonar. Equivalent magnetization maps obtained by inversion of the recorded magnetic anomalies are analyzed to map alteration zones related to hydrothermal processes and are correlated with water-column and seafloor observations of hydrothermal activity. At Marsili volcano, we found a large elliptical area of low magnetization, confirming the existence of a large hydrothermal system located in proximity of the top cone, above the magma chamber. Palinuro volcano is characterized by hydrothermal venting located along the caldera walls, where the corresponding ring faults may provide preferred pathways for the upflow of the hydrothermal fluids.