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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 30, NO. 2, 1057, doi:10.1029/2002GL015463, 2003

Mount Etna: Geochemical signals of magma ascent and unusually extensive plumbing system

A. Caracausi

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, I.N.G.V—Section of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa, Palermo, Italy


R. Favara

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, I.N.G.V—Section of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa, Palermo, Italy


S. Giammanco

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, I.N.G.V—Section of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa, Palermo, Italy


F. Italiano

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, I.N.G.V—Section of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa, Palermo, Italy


A. Paonita

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, I.N.G.V—Section of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa, Palermo, Italy


G. Pecoraino

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, I.N.G.V—Section of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa, Palermo, Italy


A. Rizzo

Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, I.N.G.V—Section of Palermo, Via Ugo La Malfa, Palermo, Italy


P. M. Nuccio

Dipartimento di Chimica e Fisica della Terra ed Applicazioni (CFTA), University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy


Abstract

Five years of gas monitoring from selected sites suggest that Mt Etna's plumbing system is much more extensive than previously reported. It extends at least 40 km SW from the volcano's boundary along the NE-SW regional fault, where it discharges about 200 tons/day of gas, containing helium with mantle-type isotopic composition. Synchronous variations of 3He/4He isotopic ratios in gas sampled at sites located 60 kilometers apart have allowed us to detect pulses of ascending magma in the plumbing system, thus providing a powerful tool for eruption forecasting. Following summer 2001 eruption, the still increasing trend of the 3He/4He ratios indicates that magma storage is even now occurring at a shallow depth. Hence, the volcano maintains a high capacity to re-erupt within the next few months.

Published 23 January 2003.

Index Terms: 1040 Geochemistry: Isotopic composition/chemistry; 8419 Volcanology: Eruption monitoring (7280); 8434 Volcanology: Magma migration; 8439 Volcanology: Physics and chemistry of magma bodies.

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Citation: Caracausi, A., R. Favara, S. Giammanco, F. Italiano, A. Paonita, G. Pecoraino, A. Rizzo, and P. M. Nuccio (2003), Mount Etna: Geochemical signals of magma ascent and unusually extensive plumbing system, Geophys. Res. Lett., 30(2), 1057, doi:10.1029/2002GL015463.