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Ground deformation of Nisyros Volcano (Greece) for the period 1995–2002: Results from DInSAR and DGPS observations

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Abstract

Differential GPS (DGPS) and Differential Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) analyses were applied to the Kos-Yali-Nisyros Volcanic Field (SE Hellenic Volcanic Arc) to quantify the ground deformation of Nisyros Volcano. After intense seismic activity in 1996, a GPS network was installed in June 1997 and re-occupied annually up to 2002. A general uplift ranging from 14 to 140 mm was determined at all stations of the network. The corresponding horizontal displacements ranged from 13 to 53 mm. The displacement vectors indicate that the island is undergoing extension towards the East, West and South. A two-source “Mogi” model combined with assumed motion along the Mandraki Fault was constructed to fit the observed deformation. The best-fit model assumes sources at a depth of 5500 m NW of the centre of the island and at 6500 m offshore ESE of Yali Island. DInSAR analysis using four pairs of images taken between May 1995 and September 2000 suggests that deformation was occurring during 1995 before the start of the seismic crisis. An amplitude of at least 56 mm along the slant range appeared for the period 1996 through 1999. This deformation is consistent with the two-source model invoked in DGPS modelling. Surface evidence of ground deformation is expressed in the contemporaneous reactivation of the Mandraki Fault. In addition, a 600 m long N-S trending irregular rupture in the caldera floor was formed between 2001 and 2002. This rupture is interpreted as the release of surface stress in the consolidated epiclastic and hydrothermal sediments of the caldera floor.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by GEOWARN EU Project (IST-1999-12310) and KAPODISTRIAS of the Special Account for Research Grants of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. We would like to thank Dr. B. Damiata, Prof. D. Papanikolaou, Dr. F. Sigmundsson and Dr. G. Stavrakakis for their help and support. Also, Dr. Sp. Vassilopoulou, Dr. R. Gogu and Mr. B. Jenny who generated the DTM model, the GIS structural and geotechnical maps of Nisyros Island. Many thanks are also extended to Dr. J. Alexopoulos, Mr. S. Chailas & Mr. L. Tzannetos for their fieldwork assistance. This paper benefited significantly from constructive comments by Prof. Geoff Wadge and an anonymous reviewer.

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  1. Is. Parcharidis

    Present address: Department of Geography, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Applications Research Unit in Geosciences, Laboratory of Geophysics, Department of Geophysics & Geothermics, National Kapodistrian University of Athens, Panepistimiopolis-Ilissia, 157 84, Athens, Greece

    E. Lagios, V. Sakkas & Is. Parcharidis

  2. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Institute of Mineralogy and Petrography, ETH-Zentrum, CH-8092, Zurich, Switzerland

    V. Dietrich

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  1. E. Lagios
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Correspondence to E. Lagios.

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Lagios, E., Sakkas, V., Parcharidis, I. et al. Ground deformation of Nisyros Volcano (Greece) for the period 1995–2002: Results from DInSAR and DGPS observations. Bull Volcanol 68, 201–214 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-005-0004-y

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