Mimmo Palano

Dynamics of Mount Etna before, during, and after the July–August 2001 eruption inferred from GPS and differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry data

We acknowledge the ‘‘Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia’’, the Italian ‘‘Dipartimento per la Protezione Civile’’ and the European Community (contract INGV-DPC UR V3_6/36 and VOLUME Project) for their economic contribution to this research. The SAR data are provided by ESA-ESRIN.

Multiparametric study of the February-April 2013 paroxysmal phase of Mt. Etna New South-East crater

European FP7 MED-SUV (MEditerranean SUpersite Volcanoes). Grant Number: 308665 European Research Council European FP7 (FP/2007-2013)/ERC. Grant Number: 279802 SIGMA (Sistema Integrato di sensori in ambiente cloud per la Gestione Multirischio Avanzata)

Pressurization and depressurization phases inside the plumbing system of Mount Etna volcano: Evidence from a multiparametric approach

During 2013 Mount Etna volcano experienced intense eruptive activity at the summit craters, foremost at the New Southeast Crater and to a minor degree at the Voragine and Bocca Nuova (BN), which took place in two cycles, February–April and September–December. In this work, we mainly focus on the period between these cycles, applying a multiparametric approach. The period from the end of April to 5 September showed a gradual increase in the amplitude of long-period (LP) events and volcanic tremor, a slight inflation testified by both tilt and GPS data, and a CO2 flux increase. Such variations were interpreted as due to a gradual pressurization of the plumbing system, from the shallowest part, where LP and volcanic tremor are located, down to about 3–9 km below sea level, pressure source depths obtained by both geodetic and CO2 data. On 5 September, at the same time as a large explosion at BN, we observed an instantaneous variation of the aforementioned signals (decrease in amplitude of LP events and volcanic tremor, slight deflation, and CO2 flux decrease) and the activation of a new infrasonic source located at BN. In the light of it, the BN explosion probably caused the instantaneous end of the pressurization, and the opening of a new vent at BN, that has become a new steady source of infrasonic events. This apparently slight change in the plumbing system also led to the gradual resumption of activity at the New Southeast Crater, culminating with the second lava fountain cycle of 2013.

Evidences of a contractional pattern along the northern rim of the Hyblean Plateau (Sicily, Italy) from GPS data

In this paper we present the main results inferred from GPS data collected between 1998.00 and 2009.78 along the northern rim of the Hyblean Plateau from 9 continuous and 23 survey-mode sites. From a geological point of view, this area is of great interest because 1) it represents an important piece of the collision front between Nubia and Eurasia 2) it is very close to the biggest European volcano Mount Etna and 3) it has been hit by strong earthquakes in the past (1169 and 1693) that struggled the cities of Catania, Siracusa and Ragusa provoking tens of thousands of casualties. We have found that the ground deformation pattern clearly defines an area of prevailing contraction along the northern rim of the Hyblean Plateau with a maximum negative strain-rate of about 0.14µstrain/yr in agreement with both geological and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) data. In addition, a transition to extensional regime is acting toward the central sector of the plateau. The velocity field referred to the Eurasian frame indicates that a large part of the plateau is dominated by a 5.4mm/yr northward motion.

The unusual 28 December 2014 dike-fed paroxysm at Mount Etna: Timing and mechanism from a multidisciplinary perspective

Between 2011 and 2013, there were 43 lava fountain episodes from Mount Etnas New South-East summit crater (NSEC). In 2014, this intense activity was supplanted by sporadic Strombolian explosions and the opening of an eruptive fissure between July and August. The only lava fountaining episode of the year occurred on 28 December; this was characterized by the emplacement of a shallow dike that, at the surface, fed two distinct lava flows from an ENE-WSW trending eruptive fissure. Here we provide a detailed picture of the onset of the dike emplacement, as well as the mechanism driving its migration, using a multidisciplinary data set based on seismic, geodetic, geochemical, and volcanological observations. The dike emplacement was preceded by a pressurization of the magmatic plumbing system recorded from August 2014 on. This pressurization has been modeled as a vertically elongated magmatic source located beneath the summit craters at ~4.5 km below sea level. From September to October, magma rising was also detected by seismic and geochemical data that highlighted pressurization of the shallower portion of the plumbing system. We suggest that the 28 December 2014 dike emplacement resulted from a modification of the preexisting NSEC shallow plumbing system, largely due to drainage of the main shallow conduit during the July–August 2014 eruptive fissure activity. Such a structural modification might have created the conditions for magma emplacement as a dike-like structure.

3D displacement field retrieved by integrating Sentinel-1 InSAR and GPS data: the 2014 South Napa earthquake

Abstract In this study the integration of Sentinel-1 InSAR (Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) and GPS (Global Positioning System) data was performed to estimate the three components of the ground deformation field due to the Mw 6.0 earthquake occurred on August 24th, 2014, in the Napa Valley, California, USA. The SAR data were acquired by the Sentinel-1 satellite on August 7th and 31st respectively. In addition, the GPS observations acquired during the whole month of August were analyzed. These data were obtained from the Bay Area Regional Deformation Network, the UNAVCO and the Crustal Dynamics Data Information System online archives. The data integration was realized by using a Bayesian statistical approach searching for the optimal estimation of the three deformation components. The experimental results show large displacements caused by the earthquake characterized by a predominantly NW-SE strike-slip fault mechanism.

How a complex basaltic volcanic system works: Constraints from integrating seismic, geodetic, and petrological data at Mount Etna volcano during the July-August 2014 eruption

The petrological part of this study was supported by the FIR 2014 research grant to Marco Viccaro from the University of Catania (Italy), grant number 2F119B, title of the project “Dynamics of evolution, ascent and emplacement of basic magmas: case-studies from eruptive manifestations of Eastern Sicily”.

Defining Geodetic Reference Frame using Matlab ® : PlatEMotion 2.0

We describe the main features of the developed software tool, namely PlatE-Motion 2.0 (PEM2), which allows inferring the Euler pole parameters by inverting the observed velocities at a set of sites located on a rigid block (inverse problem). PEM2 allows also calculating the expected velocity value for any point located on the Earth providing an Euler pole (direct problem). PEM2 is the updated version of a previous software tool initially developed for easy-to-use file exchange with the GAMIT/GLOBK software package. The software tool is developed in Matlab® framework and, as the previous version, includes a set of MATLAB functions (m-files), GUIs (fig-files), map data files (mat-files) and user’s manual as well as some example input files. New changes in PEM2 include (1) some bugs fixed, (2) improvements in the code, (3) improvements in statistical analysis, (4) new input/output file formats. In addition, PEM2 can be now run under the majority of operating systems. The tool is open source and freely available for the scientific community.

Space‐Time Evolution of Magma Storage and Transfer at Mt. Etna Volcano (Italy): The 2015–2016 Reawakening of Voragine Crater

Programma Nazionale Ricerche . Grant Number: PNRA14_00011 University of Catania FIR 2014 . Grant Numbers: 2F119B , PRA 2016‐18 , 22722132120

Application and analysis of geodetic protocols for monitoring subsidence phenomena along on-shore hydrocarbon reservoirs

Abstract In this study, we tested the “land-subsidence monitoring guidelines” proposed by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development (MISE), to study ground deformations along on-shore hydrocarbon reservoirs. We propose protocols that include the joint use of Global Positioning System (GPS) and multi-temporal Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) techniques, for a twofold purpose: a) monitoring land subsidence phenomena along selected areas after defining the background of ground deformations; b) analyzing possible relationships between hydrocarbon exploitation and anomalous deformation patterns. Experimental results, gathered along the Ravenna coastline (northern Italy) and in the southeastern Sicily (southern Italy), show wide areas of subsidence mainly related to natural and anthropogenic processes. Moreover, ground deformations retrieved through multi-temporal DInSAR time series exhibit low sensitivity as well as poor spatial and temporal correlation with hydrocarbon exploitation activities. Results allow evaluating the advantages and limitations of proposed protocols, to improve the techniques and security standards established by MISE guidelines for monitoring on-shore hydrocarbon reservoirs.