Topographic Maps of Mount Etna’s Summit Craters, updated to December 2015

ABSTRACT

New maps of the summit of Mount Etna volcano (1:5000–1:4000), derived from helicopter photogrammetry, thermal images and terrestrial laser scanner survey, are here presented. These maps indicate the main morpho-structural changes occurring during the powerful explosive and effusive eruptions involving the summit craters of Etna over the first two weeks of December 2015. The survey enabled identifying the proximal erupted volume (7.2 ± 0.14 × 10⁶ m³) and the size and location of the vent causing the powerful explosive activity inside the Central Crater. Our survey also outlines the growth of a recent (2011–2015) summit cone on top of a former pit crater, named New SE-Crater. This new cone is by now comparable in size to the former SE-Crater. The shape and size of two small cinder cones that formed on the upper eastern flank of the summit zone in May–July 2014 are also shown. This approach can be used in fast and frequent monitoring of very active volcanoes.

KEYWORDS:

• Etna
• photogrammetry
• terrestrial laser scanner
• thermal images
• topographic map
• summit craters

ORCID

Marco Neri http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5890-3398

Marina De Maio http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1271-2537

Stefano Crepaldi http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6804-9212

Enrico Suozzi http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3742-0917

Muriel Lavy http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2571-5662

Federico Marchionatti http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1277-6159

Sonia Calvari http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8189-5499

Maria Fabrizia Buongiorno http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6095-6974

Acknowledgements

The Etna overflight was made by Butterfly S.r.L. Helicopters Services, piloted by Piero Berti. We would like to thank the Editor B. Cattoor and the reviewers A. Bonforte and I. Nicolosi for their constructive criticism and helpful suggestions. S. Conway improved the English.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.