Sliding episodes during the 2002–2003 Stromboli lava effusion: Insights from seismic, volcanic, and statistical data analysis

Abstract

Repeated phenomena of flank instability accompanied the 28 December 2002 to 21 July 2003 eruption of Stromboli volcano. The major episodes were two tsunamigenic landslides on 30 December 2002, 2 d after the volcano unrest. After 30 December, sliding processes remodeled the area affected by slope instability. We propose analyses of 565 sliding episodes taking place from December 2002 to February 2003. We try to shed light on their main seismic features and links with the ongoing seismic and volcanic activity using variogram analysis as well. A characterization of the seismic signals in the time and frequency domains is presented for 185 sliding episodes. Their frequency content is between 1 Hz and 7 Hz. On the basis of the dominant peaks and shape of the spectrum, we identify three subclasses of signals, one of which has significant energy below 2 Hz. Low‐frequency signatures were also found in the seismic records of the landslides of 30 December, which affected the aerial and submarine northwestern flank of the volcano. Accordingly, we surmise that spectral analysis might provide evidence of sliding phenomena with submarine runouts. We find no evidence of sliding processes induced by earthquakes. Additionally, a negative statistical correlation between sliding episodes and explosion quakes is highlighted by variogram analysis. Variograms indicate a persistent behavior, memory, of the flank instability from 5 to 10 d. We interpret the climax in the occurrence rate of the sliding processes between 24 and 29 January 2003 as the result of favorable conditions to slope instability due to the emplacement of NW‐SE aligned, dike‐fed vents located near the scarp of the landslide area. Afterward, the stabilizing effect of the lava flows over the northwestern flank of the volcano limited erosive phenomena to the unstable, loose slope not covered by lava.