Seismological monitoring of the February 2007 effusive eruption of the Stromboli volcano

Abstract

On February 27, 2007, the Stromboli volcano, which has usually been characterized by moderate explosive activity, started an effusive eruption with a small lava flow down the NW flank. The permanent broadband network installed on the island allowed the revealing of anomalies in the seismicity before the effusive eruption and for the phenomena to be followed over time, thus obtaining meaningful information about the eruption dynamics. During the effusive phase, a major explosion occurred on March 15, 2007. On that occasion, two strainmeters deployed on the volcano in the previous year recorded a strain increment before the blast. After this explosion, which further destabilized the upper part of the edifice, swarms of Long-Period (LP) and hybrid events were recorded. The characteristics and locations of these events suggest that they were associated with the fracturing processes that affected the summit area of the cone. During the effusive phase, changes in the Very Long Period (VLP) event location were recorded. This type of events accompanied the change in the eruptive style, providing information about the magmatic conduit involved in their seismogenetic processes. The effusive phase stopped on April 2, 2007, and the typical Strombolian activity restarted some months later