Magma Budget From Lava and Tephra Volumes Erupted During the 25-26 October 2013 Lava Fountain at Mt Etna

<div> <p><span>Lava fountains represent a common eruptive phenomenon at basaltic volcanoes, which consist of jets of fluid lava ejected into the atmosphere from active vents or fissures. They are driven by rapid formation and expansion of gas bubbles during magma ascent. The dynamics of lava fountains is thought to be controlled by the gas accumulation in the foam layer at the top of a shallow magmatic reservoir, which eventually collapses triggering the lava fountaining. Gravity measurements taken from a location close to summit of Mt. Etna during the 2011 lava fountain episodes showed a pre-fountaining decrease of the gravity signal. The interplay between gas accumulation in the foam layer and its subsequent exsolution in the conduit has been interpreted as the mechanism producing the gravity decrease and eventually leading to the foam collapse and onset of the lava fountaining activity. Gravity measurements have proved helpful in recording the earliest phases anticipating the lava fountain episodes and inferring the amount of gas involved. However, more accurate estimates of the accumulating and ascending gas volume and total magma mass require considering the possible effect of non-spherical magma chamber geometries and magma compressibility. </span></p> </div><div> <p><span>Under task 4.4 of the H2020 NEWTON-g project, we are accomplishing a detailed study aimed to simulate the gravity signal produced in the stage prior to a lava fountain episode, through a magma chamber - conduit model. We use a prolate ellipsoidal chamber matching the inferred shape of the shallow chamber active at Mt. Etna during the lava fountain episodes, and calculate the surface gravity changes induced by inflow of new magma into the chamber-conduit system. We use a two-phase magma with fixed amount of gas mass fraction and account for magma compressibility. We find that a realistic chamber shape and magma compressibility play a key role and must be considered to produce realistic gravity changes simulations. We combine our physical model with empirical distributions of recurrence time and eruption size of the past lava fountains at Mt. Etna to stochastically simulate realistic time series of gravity changes. The final goal of this study is to develop a prediction model for the amount of magma and duration of lava fountains at Mt. Etna.</span></p> </div>

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Changes in SO2 Flux Regime at Mt. Etna Captured by Automatically Processed Ultraviolet Camera Data

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11101201 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 1201 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Dario Delle Donne ◽

Alessandro Aiuppa ◽

Marcello Bitetto ◽

Roberto D’Aleo ◽

Mauro Coltelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Explosive Eruptions ◽

Etna Volcano ◽

Lava Fountain ◽

Paroxysmal Activity ◽

So2 Emission ◽

So2 Flux ◽

Mt Etna ◽

One Year ◽

Peak Emission ◽

Novel Algorithm

We used a one-year long SO2 flux record, which was obtained using a novel algorithm for real-time automatic processing of ultraviolet (UV) camera data, to characterize changes in degassing dynamics at the Mt. Etna volcano in 2016. These SO2 flux records, when combined with independent thermal and seismic evidence, allowed for capturing switches in activity from paroxysmal explosive eruptions to quiescent degassing. We found SO2 fluxes 1.5–2 times higher than the 2016 average (1588 tons/day) during the Etna’s May 16–25 eruptive paroxysmal activity, and mild but detectable SO2 flux increases more than one month before its onset. The SO2 flux typically peaked during a lava fountain. Here, the average SO2 degassing rate was ~158 kg/s, the peak emission was ~260 kg/s, and the total released SO2 mass was ~1700 tons (in 3 h on 18 May, 2016). Comparison between our data and prior (2014–2015) results revealed systematic SO2 emission patterns prior to, during, and after an Etna’s paroxysmal phases, which allows us to tentatively identify thresholds between pre-eruptive, syn-eruptive, and post-eruptive degassing regimes.

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Mass Eruption Rates of Tephra Plumes During the 2011–2015 Lava Fountain Paroxysms at Mt. Etna From Doppler Radar Retrievals

Frontiers in Earth Science ◽

10.3389/feart.2018.00073 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Valentin Freret-Lorgeril ◽

Franck Donnadieu ◽

Simona Scollo ◽

Ariel Provost ◽

Patrick Fréville ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Doppler Radar ◽

Lava Fountain ◽

Mt Etna

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PM<sub>10</sub> measurements in urban settlements after lava fountain episodes at Mt. Etna, Italy: pilot test to assess volcanic ash hazard to human health

Natural Hazards and Earth System Science ◽

10.5194/nhess-16-29-2016 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

pp. 29-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

D. Andronico ◽

P. Del Carlo

Keyword(s):

Volcanic Ash ◽

Coarse Particles ◽

Lava Fountain ◽

Potential Health ◽

Urban Settlements ◽

Mt Etna ◽

Potential Risks ◽

Preliminary Study ◽

The Impact ◽

Tephra Fallout

Abstract. We have carried out a preliminary study on the potential risks caused by the sub-10 µm fraction of volcanic ash (particulate matter, PM10) after the basaltic explosive eruptions from Mt. Etna volcano (Italy), which have dramatically increased in frequency over the last 20 years. We present results deriving from the study of the ash concentration in the air following the lava fountain episode from the New Southeast Crater of Etna on 15 November 2011, which caused tephra fallout over the eastern slope of the volcano. Short-duration tests of PM10 measurements were carried out at three different sites using a TSI® DustTrakTM aerosol monitor a few hours after the end of the eruption, and readouts of the air quality were repeated at the same sites a month later without volcanic activity. Furthermore, ash samples were characterized by grain size, componentry and morphological and petrochemical analyses. By comparing PM10 levels measured a few hours after the 15 November lava fountain and on 15 December, we found that relatively low amounts (500–1500 g m−2) of tephra fallout cause high levels of PM10 in the air. This is because the coarse particles, particularly basaltic ash, are readily broken up by traffic and hence remobilized into the air. We believe the impact from ash fallout in the Etnean territory should receive greater attention, especially regarding potential health problems. Simple but effective actions can be implemented to reduce eventual risks, first and foremost the prompt removal of the ash deposits from the urbanized areas.

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Unexpected hazards from tephra fallouts at Mt Etna: The 23 November 2013 lava fountain

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research ◽

10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2015.08.007 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 304 ◽

pp. 118-125 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Daniele Andronico ◽

Simona Scollo ◽

Antonio Cristaldi

Keyword(s):

Lava Fountain ◽

Mt Etna

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Dynamics of a lava fountain revealed by geophysical, geochemical and thermal satellite measurements: The case of the 10 April 2011 Mt Etna eruption

Geophysical Research Letters ◽

10.1029/2011gl049637 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 38 (24) ◽

pp. n/a-n/a ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

A. Bonaccorso ◽

T. Caltabiano ◽

G. Currenti ◽

C. Del Negro ◽

S. Gambino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Lava Fountain ◽

Satellite Measurements ◽

Mt Etna

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Representivity of incompletely sampled fall deposits in estimating eruption source parameters: a test using the 12–13 January 2011 lava fountain deposit from Mt. Etna volcano, Italy

Bulletin of Volcanology ◽

10.1007/s00445-014-0861-3 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 76 (10) ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Daniele Andronico ◽

Simona Scollo ◽

Antonio Cristaldi ◽

Maria Deborah Lo Castro

Keyword(s):

Source Parameters ◽

Etna Volcano ◽

Lava Fountain ◽

Mt Etna ◽

Fall Deposits

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PM<sub>10</sub> measurements in urban settlements after lava fountain episodes at Mt Etna, Italy: pilot test to assess volcanic ash hazard on human health

Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences Discussions ◽

10.5194/nhessd-3-3925-2015 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 (6) ◽

pp. 3925-3953

Author(s):

D. Andronico ◽

P. Del Carlo

Keyword(s):

Volcanic Ash ◽

New South ◽

Coarse Particles ◽

Lava Fountain ◽

Potential Health ◽

Urban Settlements ◽

Mt Etna ◽

Potential Risks ◽

The Impact ◽

Tephra Fallout

Abstract. In this paper we focus on the potential risks caused by the sub-10 micron fraction of volcanic ash (particulate matter: PM10) after the basaltic explosive eruptions from Mt Etna volcano (Italy), which have dramatically increased in frequency over the last 20 years. We present results deriving from the study of the ash concentration in the air following the lava fountain episode from the New South-East Crater of Etna on 15 November 2011, which caused tephra fallout over the eastern slope of the volcano. Short-duration tests of PM10 measurements were carried out at three different sites using a TSI® DustTrakTM aerosol monitor a few hours after the end of the eruption, and readouts of the air quality were repeated at the same sites a month later without volcanic activity. Furthermore, ash samples were characterized by grain-size, componentry, morphological and petro-chemical analyses. By comparing PM10 levels measured a few hours after the 15 November lava fountain and on 15 December, we found that relatively low amounts (500–1500 g m-2) of tephra fallout cause high levels of PM10 in the air. This is because the coarse particles, like basaltic ash, are readily broken up by traffic and hence remobilized into the air, due to their intrinsic, physical and morphological features. We believe that in the future the impact from ash fallout in the Etnean territory should receive proper attention in order to avoid potential health problems; this may be achieved by accomplishing simple but effective actions, first and foremost the prompt removal of the ash deposits from the urbanized areas.

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