Insights on the December 2018 Mt. Etna Eruption based on InSAR data and numerical modelling
Abstract
This work presents the results of SAR Interferometry (InSAR) applied to a multi-hazard event induced by the eruption of Mt. Etna volcano. On December 24th, 2018, Mt. Etna volcano began a very intense eruption, characterized by lava flows, ash and gas emissions, and a seismic swarm, caused by the intrusion of the magma in the volcano. Two days later a magnitude Mw 4.9, with hypocentre at a depth of ~1 km, hits some villages located on the volcano southeast flank, causing damage and several ground fractures. Thanks to InSAR technique, and the images acquired by Sentinel-1 and ALOS-2 satellite missions, we detected and measured the displacement of four main phenomena. The most important one is the deformation of the Etna summit area due to the opening of a dike and the related magma ascent. It involved a large portion of the volcano flanks, reaching more than 40 cm and 60 cm along west and east directions, respectively. The second well-defined deformation pattern is related to the concurrent Mw 4.9 earthquake, that was generated by the slip of the Fiandaca-Pennisi Fault, and resulted in a mainly horizontal movement up to ~15 cm toward east and 20 cm toward west directions, respectively. The interferograms also allowed us to detect a small-scale landslide that took place on the southwestern flank of the volcano, ~23 km away from the Etna eruption vent, and the sudden movement of the Pernicana faults system to the north. Other smaller displacement patterns are also visible in the surroundings of know fault systems, like the Pernicana and the Ragalna ones, where significant seismc events did not occur. We used InSAR data to constrain the models of the magma and earthquake sources. We set-up a Finite Elements Model to analyze the kinematic interaction among eruption, earthquake and Mt. Etna eastern flank movement, aiming to understand the interplay between volcano dynamics and faulting.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AGUFM.V13D0195B
- Keywords:
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- 1295 Integrations of techniques;
- GEODESY AND GRAVITY;
- 7280 Volcano seismology;
- SEISMOLOGY;
- 8178 Tectonics and magmatism;
- TECTONOPHYSICS;
- 8485 Remote sensing of volcanoes;
- VOLCANOLOGY