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Article
The Influence of Volcano Topographic Changes on Infrasound Amplitude: Lava Fountains at Mt. Etna in 2021
Bulletin of Volcanology
  • Adriana Iozzia, Università degli Studi di Catania
  • Leighton M. Watson, University of Canterbury
  • Massimo Cantarero, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
  • Emanuela De Beni, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
  • Giuseppe Di Grazia, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
  • Gaetana Ganci, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
  • Jeffrey B. Johnson, Boise State University
  • Eugenio Privitera, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
  • Cristina Proietti, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
  • Mariangela Sciotto, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia
  • Andrea Cannata, Università degli Studi di Catania
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
10-1-2023
Abstract

Infrasound signals are used to investigate and monitor active volcanoes during eruptive and degassing activity. Infrasound amplitude information has been used to estimate eruptive parameters such as plume height, magma discharge rate, and lava fountain height. Active volcanoes are characterized by pronounced topography and, during eruptive activity, the topography can change rapidly, affecting the observed infrasound amplitudes. While the interaction of infrasonic signals with topography has been widely investigated over the past decade, there has been limited work on the impact of changing topography on the infrasonic amplitudes. In this work, the infrasonic signals accompanying 57 lava fountain paroxysms at Mt. Etna (Italy) during 2021 were analyzed. In particular, the temporal and spatial variations of the infrasound amplitudes were investigated. During 2021, significant changes in the topography around the most active crater (the South East Crater) took place and were reconstructed in detail using high resolution imagery from unoccupied aerial system surveys. Through analysis of the observed infrasound signals and numerical simulations of the acoustic wavefield, we demonstrate that the observed spatial and temporal variation in the infrasound signal amplitudes can largely be explained by the combined effects of changes in the location of the acoustic source and changes in the near-vent topography, together with source acoustic amplitude variations. This work demonstrates the importance of accurate source locations and high-resolution topographic information, particularly in the near-vent region where the topography is most likely to change rapidly and illustrates that changing topography should be considered when interpreting local infrasound observations over long time scales.

Creative Commons License
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
Citation Information
Adriana Iozzia, Leighton M. Watson, Massimo Cantarero, Emanuela De Beni, et al.. "The Influence of Volcano Topographic Changes on Infrasound Amplitude: Lava Fountains at Mt. Etna in 2021" Bulletin of Volcanology (2023)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jeffrey_johnson/79/