The shallow plumbing system of Stromboli Island as imaged from 1 Hz instantaneous GPS positions

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 31; no. 24; pp. L24610 - n/a
• Main Authors: Mattia, Mario, Rossi, Massimo, Guglielmino, Francesco, Aloisi, Marco, Bock, Yehuda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: American Geophysical Union 01-12-2004; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Eruption mechanisms; Eruption monitoring; Mathematical Geophysics; Modeling; Physics of magma and magma bodies; Tectonophysics; Volcanology
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/2004GL021281

The Stromboli volcano (Aeolian Islands, Italy) erupted suddenly on 28 December 2002 after a 17‐year period of typically persistent but moderate eruptive activity, followed two days later by a tsunamigenic landslide on its NW flank (Sciara del Fuoco) felt in the coastal areas of southern Italy. Three continuous GPS stations were quickly deployed near the volcano's rim sampling at 1 Hz, with instantaneous positions computed relative to a fourth station on its flank. We report on two deformation episodes. A vent migration on 16–17 February 2003 caused significant displacements at only one site and contributed to the decision not to issue a warning of an impending tsunamigenic landslide. The second episode on 5 April 2003, a paroxystic explosion from the summit crater, allowed us to model, for the first time with geodetic data, the shallow magma chambers that give rise to Strombolian explosive activity.