Nicolas Houlié

Large scale ground deformation of Etna observed by GPS between 1994 and 2001

We have processed thirty Global Positioning System (GPS) campaigns carried out at Etna from 1994 to early 2001 between the last two main flank eruptions of the Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy). This rest period allowed us to investigate the deep magma plumbing system of the Mt. Etna. The temporal dynamics of twenty-three points observed three times or more were analyzed. All the time series show a first-order linear trend during the five years period. It suggests that the volcano was continuously deformed by the action of a deep source while a discrete activity of the volcano was observed at the summit. We have interpreted the residual deformation field as the result of an major eastward motion of the eastern flank of the volcano.

New approach to detect seismic surface waves in 1Hz-sampled GPS time series

Recently, co-seismic seismic source characterization based on GPS measurements has been completed in near- and far-field with remarkable results. However, the accuracy of the ground displacement measurement inferred from GPS phase residuals is still depending of the distribution of satellites in the sky. We test here a method, based on the double difference (DD) computations of Line of Sight (LOS), that allows detecting 3D co-seismic ground shaking. The DD method is a quasi-analytically free of most of intrinsic errors affecting GPS measurements. The seismic waves presented in this study produced DD amplitudes 4 and 7 times stronger than the background noise. The method is benchmarked using the GEONET GPS stations recording the Hokkaido Earthquake (2003 September 25th, Mw = 8.3).

Volcanic plume above Mount St. Helens detected with GPS

Eruptions can produce not only flows of incandescent material along the slopes of a volcano but also ash plumes in the troposphere [Sparks et al., 1997] that can threaten aircraft flying in the vicinity [Fisher et al., 1997]. To protect aircraft, passengers, and crews, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Meteorological Organization created eight Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (VAAC, http://www.ssd.noaa.gov/VAAC/vaac.html) around the globe with the goal of tracking volcanic plumes and releasing eruption alerts to airports, pilots, and companies. Currently, the VAAC monitoring system is based mostly on the monitoring systems of any local volcano observatories and on real-time monitoring of data acquired by meteorological satellites.

Tree-ring width reveals the preparation of the 1974 Mt. Etna eruption

Reduced near-infrared reflectance observed in September 1973 in Skylab images of the western flank of Mt. Etna has been interpreted as an eruption precursor of the January 1974 eruption. Until now, it has been unclear when this signal started, whether it was sustained and which process(es) could have caused it. By analyzing tree-ring width time-series, we show that the reduced near-infrared precursory signal cannot be linked to a reduction in annual tree growth in the area. However, comparing the tree-ring width time-series with both remote sensing observations and volcano-seismic activity enables us to discuss the starting date of the pre-eruptive period of the 1974 eruption.

Correction to “Large scale ground deformation of Etna observed by GPS between 1994 and 2001”

[1] In the paper ‘‘Large scale ground deformation of Etna observed by GPS between 1994 and 2001’’ by N. Houlie et al. (Geophysical Research Letters, 33, L02309, doi:10.1029/2005GL024414, 2006) the correct volume rate of the Mogi source estimated from the GPS data of Mt. Etna from 1994 to 2001 is 27 10 m/yr instead of 60 10m/yr as reported in paragraph 14, page 3. GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 33, L20309, doi:10.1029/2006GL026892, 2006