Tracing Magma Migration at Mt. Etna Volcano during 2006–2020, Coupling Remote Sensing of Crater Gas Emissions and Ground Measurement of Soil Gases

The geochemical monitoring of volcanic activity today relies largely on remote sensing, but the combination of this approach together with soil gas monitoring, using the appropriate parameters, is still not widely used. The main purpose of this study was to correlate data from crater gas emissions w...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Salvatore Giammanco, Giuseppe Salerno, Alessandro La Spina, Pietro Bonfanti, Tommaso Caltabiano, Salvatore Roberto Maugeri, Filippo Murè, Paolo Principato
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-03-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/7/1122
Description
Summary:The geochemical monitoring of volcanic activity today relies largely on remote sensing, but the combination of this approach together with soil gas monitoring, using the appropriate parameters, is still not widely used. The main purpose of this study was to correlate data from crater gas emissions with flank emissions of soil gases at Mt. Etna volcano from June 2006 to December 2020. Crater SO<sub>2</sub> fluxes were measured from fixed stations around the volcano using the DOAS technique and applying a modeled clear-sky spectrum. The SO<sub>2</sub>/HCl ratio in the crater plume was measured with the OP-FTIR technique from a transportable instrument, using the sun as an IR source. Soil CO<sub>2</sub> efflux coupled with the <sup>220</sup>Rn/<sup>222</sup>Rn activity ratio in soil gases (named SGDI) were measured at a fixed monitoring site on the east flank of Etna. All signals acquired were subject both to spectral analysis and to filtering of the periodic signals discovered. All filtered signals revealed changes that were nicely correlated both with other geophysical signals and with volcanic eruptions during the study period. Time lags between parameters were explained in terms of different modes of magma migration and storage inside the volcano before eruptions. A comprehensive dynamic degassing model is presented that allows for a better understanding of magma dynamics in an open-conduit volcano.
ISSN:2072-4292