Abstract
The distributions and alignments of over 200 prehistoric dykes exposed in the walls of the Valle del Bove caldera on Mount Etna have been plotted, and samples collected from some 10% of those occurring in the southern wall. Important tectonic trends are reflected by the dykes, along which magma movement was facilitated prior to the formation of the caldera. Close directional relations between the dyke trends and the orientations of historic fissures on the volcano, point to the existence of a plexus of interconnecting subsurface fissures immediately to the south-east of the summit. A model is envisaged within which magma enters this «clearing house» from depth, and is distributed via fissures to other parts of the volcano including the summit region. Here, the interaction of fissures with the conduits of the summit craters is put forward as a mechanism to explain the behaviour of recent activity.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Condomines, M. andTanguy, J., 1976,Age de l’Etna déterminé par la méthode déséquilibre radioactif 230Th/238U. C. R. Acad. Sc. Paris,282, p. 1661–1664.
Cosentino, M., Cristofolini, R., Ferri, M., Lombardo, G., Patané, G., Romano, R., Viglianisi, A., andVillari P., 1981,L’eruzione dell’Etna del 17–23 marzo, 1981 Rapporto preliminare. Rend. Soc. Geool. It.,4, p. 249–252.
Cristofolini, R., 1973,Recent Trends in the Study of Etna. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond.,274, p. 17–35.
Duncan, A.M., 1978,The Trachybasaltic Volcanics of the Adrano Area, Mount Etna, Sicily. Geol. Mag.,115, p. 273–285.
————— andGuest, J.E., 1982,Mount Eina: Variations in Its Internal Plumbing. Geophysical Surveys,5, p. 213–227.
Fiske, R.S. andKinoshita, W.T., 1969,Inflation of Kilauea Volcano Prior to Its 1967–68 Eruption. Science,164, p. 341–349.
Guest, J.E., 1973,The Summit of Etna Prior to the 1971 Eruption. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond.,274, p. 63–78.
————— andDuncan, A.M., 1981,Internal Plumbing of Mount Etna. Nature,290, p. 584–586.
----- andMurray, J.B., 1977,Summary of Volcanic Activity during 1975/76. U.K. Research on Mount Etna, 1975–1976. The Royal Society, p. 56–57.
----- and -----, 1980,Summary of Volcanic Activity on Etna, 1977–79. U.K. Research on Mount Etna, 1977–1979. The Royal Society, p. 50–52.
Klerkx, J., 1968,Etude géologique et pétrologique de la Valle del Bove (Etna). Unpublished Thesis, Université de Liège.
—————, 1970,La caldera de la Valle del Bove: sa signification dans l’évolution de l’Etna (Sicile). Bull. Volcanol.,24, p. 726–737.
————— andEvrard, P., 1970,Les anomalies gravimetriques de l’Etna et l’évolution du Trifoglietto. Annls Soc. Geol. Belg.,93, p. 145–147.
Lo Giudice, A., Romano, R., andSturiale, C., 1974,Geologia e petrologia delle vulcaniti della parete occidentale della Valle del Bove (Etna). Rend. Soc. Ital. Mineral. Petrol.,30, p. 801–838.
McGuire, W.J., 1980,The Volcanic Geology of the Southern Wall of the Valle del Bove. Mount Etna, Sicily. Unpubl. Ph. D. Thesis (CNAA).
—————, 1982,Evolution of the Etna Volcano: Information from the Southern Wall of the Valle del Bove Caldera. J. Volc. Geotherm. Res.,13, p. 241–271.
Murray, J.B. andGuest, J.E., 1980,Vertical Ground Deformation by Precise Levelling Techniques. U.K. Research on Mount Etna, 1977–79. The Royal Society, p. 18–20.
----- and -----. 1982,Vertical Ground Deformation on Mount Etna, 1975–1981. Bull. Geol. Soc. Amer. (in press).
Rittmann, A., 1973,Structure and Evolution of Eina. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond.,274, p. 5–16.
Romano, R. et al., 1979,Carta geologica del Monte Etna. C.N.R. Progetto Finalizzato Geodinamica. Istituto Internazionale di Vulcanologia (Catania).
————— andGuest, J.E., 1979,Volcanic Geology of the Summit and Northern Flank of Mount Etna, Sicily. Boll. Soc. Geol. It.,98, p. 189–215.
————— andSturiale, C., 1975,Geologia della tavoletta «Monte Etna Sud». Boll. Soc. Geol. It.,94, p. 1109–1148.
Sanderson, T.J.O., 1982,Direct Gravimetric Detection of Magma Movement at Mount Etna. Nature,297, p. 487–490.
Sharp, A.D.L., Davis, P.M., andGray, F., 1980,A Low Velocity Zone beneath Mount Etna and Magma Storage. Nature,287, p. 587–591.
V.E.S.T. (Volcanic Eruption Surveillance Team - U.K.), 1981,Etna Erupts Again: a VEST Report on the March 1981 Eruption of Mount Etna, Sicily. Earthquake Information Bulletin,13, p. 134–139.
Wadge, G., 1977,The Storage and Release of Magma on Mount Etna. J. Volc. Geotherm. Res.,2, p. 361–384.
-----,Brander, J., andHorsfall, J.A.C., 1975,Distance Measurement and Tilt Monitoring. U.K. Research on Mount Etna, 1974. The Royal Society, p. 35–42.
————— andGuest, J.E., 1981,Steady-state Magma Discharge at Etna 1971–81. Nature,294, p. 548–550.
Wilkinson, J.F.G. andBinns, R.A., 1977,Relatively Iron-rich Lherzolite Xenoliths of the Cr-diopside Suite: a Guide to the Primary Nature of Anorogenic Tholeiitic Andesitic Magma. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol.,65, p. 199–212.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McGuire, W.J. Prehistoric dyke trends on Mount Etna; implications for magma transport and storage. Bull Volcanol 46, 9–22 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02598242
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02598242