Abstract
Mount Etna is Europe's most active volcano, erupting some 2 × 1010 kg of new material each year1. Its eruptions generally have two distinct forms: continuous explosive activity near the summit with low rates of lava effusion, or massive, and often quieter, lava effusion from its flanks along regional tectonic fissures. The question of where magma is stored before eruption is not yet resolved. Here I present results from high-precision gravity surveys covering two recent eruptions. Gravity changes after the major flank eruption of March 1981 indicate draining of magma from a dyke 14 km long, at an elevation of 0–1 km and striking in a direction close to that of the eruptive fissure. Changes from the explosive sub-terminal eruptions of September 1980 do not indicate draining from any near-surface reservoir. It is proposed that short-term magma storage can occur close to the surface before a flank eruption, but that summit eruptive activity is consistent with a Source at greater depth.
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Sanderson, T. Direct gravimetric detection of magma movements at Mount Etna. Nature 297, 487–490 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/297487a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/297487a0
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