Abstract
In this paper we present and discuss the results of a geophysical airborne survey carried out in the Somma-Vesuvius volcanic area, Southern Italy, in 1999. The helicopter-borne survey was aimed at giving new detailed insights into the distribution of the magnetization of the area and, therefore, into the volcanological characteristics of the region, enhancing the knowledge given by a previous low resolution survey carried out at a regional scale by Agip. The new survey was carried out by flying on a surface parallel to the topography of the area, along flight lines spaced 600 m apart. The obtained total field map is dominated by a large anomaly related to the Mt. Somma-Vesuvius complex itself and characterized by a roughly elliptical shape. High-frequency anomalies occur in the edifice and in the area east of it, partly produced by cultural noise due to the densely inhabited area. The compilation of the maps of the analytic signal and of the horizontal derivative of the field allowed the location of the lateral boundaries of the magnetic sources of the area and represents a first step toward the interpretation of the maps in terms of geological structures.
Highlights
As is well known, the Vesuvius volcanic area is one of the most dangerous in the world because of the type of eruptions, mainly explosive, which characterize this volcano and of its location in a very densely populated area; for these reasons the study of its structural and volcanological features by geophysical methods has gained an increasing importance in the last few years
In the following we present the results of this aeromagnetic survey and the first analysis of the new data set of the Vesuvian volcanic area
The areas surrounding the edifice are characterized by many high-frequency anomalies, which may be partly connected to the high cultural noise in the densely inhabited Vesuvian area
Summary
The complex, formed by an older volcanic center (Mt. Somma) and a more recent one (Mt. Vesuvius), is located in an area where a sedimentary, limestone basement sinks to depths of a few thousand meters b.s.l., as showed by gravity methods (Carrara et al, 1974) and seismic reflection data (Bruno et al, 1998). Interpretation with 2.5D and 3D models (Fedi et al, 1998; Fedi and Rapolla, 1999) of a previous low resolution survey (Agip, 1981) showed high magnetizations inside the emergent part of the volcano and showed the presence of magnetized rocks down to a depth of about 2 km b.s.l. Recently, gravity studies (Cella et al, 2003) detected a deeper, intra-crustal low density source with an average density contrast compatible with a trachybasaltic body partially molten, which was interpreted as the main magmatic reservoir of the volcanic activity of the whole region. In the following we present the results of this aeromagnetic survey and the first analysis of the new data set of the Vesuvian volcanic area
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