Changing magma recharge/discharge dynamics during the 2020–22 lava fountaining activity at Mt. Etna revealed by tilt deformation and volcanic tremor

Abstract

Mt. Etna exhibited 62 lava fountaining events between December 13, 2020 and February 21, 2022. We analyzed tilt deformations and volcanic tremor amplitude time series, to characterize both eruptions and the preceding preparatory phases in terms of magnitude and speed of development of the volcanic phenomena, as well as to reconstruct the processes that took place inside the plumbing system and drove this intense period of activity. Based on deflation amplitudes associated with lava fountains and according with other retrieved parameters (i.e., magnitude of inflations, inflation and deflation velocities and volcanic tremor amplitudes), three periods have been distinguished. Period I displays higher values of all the aforementioned parameters, interpreted as conspicuous volumes of volatile-rich magma transferred towards the surface. Period II shows lower values evidencing lack of important new injections of magma from depth, whereas period III reveals a general increasing trend possibly related to gas flushing from magma residing in deeper portions of the plumbing system. Detailed elaborations of tilt signals allowed the identification of short-lived inflations accompanying the early stages of lava fountains during period II. Our results reveal significant correlations between amplitude and velocity of tilt and volcanic tremor signals associated with lava fountains and evidence the crucial role of gas in the inflation-deflation cycles.