The coupling between very long period seismic events, volcanic tremor, and degassing rates at Mount Etna volcano

A significant positive correlation between volcanic tremor amplitude and sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas flux at Mount Etna suggests that tremor can serve as a proxy for background degassing activity. The study, conducted from December 2005 to January 2006, also found that very long period (VLP) seismic events, which numbered over 10,000 during this period, were associated with volumetric changes in the volcano's conduit system. While VLP-related gas emissions contributed less than 5% of the total SO2 flux, a linear correlation between VLP activity and degassing was observed, particularly after a slight change in the depth of the VLP source. This indicates that conduit geometry plays a crucial role in the coupling process, marking the first quantitative relationship between instrumentally measured gas emissions and inferred gas mass from VLP source inversion at Mount Etna.

Zuccarello, L., Burton, M. R., Saccorotti, G., Bean, C. J., & Patanè, D. (2013). The coupling between very long period seismic events, volcanic tremor, and degassing rates at Mount Etna volcano. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 118(9), 4910–4921. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrb.50363