A study conducted by a team of researchers from INGV has reconstructed the structural configuration of the most active sector of the Campi Flegrei in 3D, highlighting the relationships between its different parts and observing its development in depth
A three-dimensional image differentiates for the first time the buried structures of the most active sector of the Campi Flegrei, reconstructing the deep configuration of the Solfatara volcano, characterized by a "funnel" shape which favors the accumulation of fluids, and that of the other areas of neighboring hydrothermal emissions, such as Pisciarelli and Agnano. This is the result of a study conducted by researchers from the Vesuvius Observatory of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (OV-INGV) in collaboration with colleagues from the Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences of the University "Federico II" of Naples, recently published in the journal "Scientific Reports" of "Nature".
The research, carried out through the innovative use of wireless electrical resistivity tomography, made it possible to obtain a 3D model of the first 500 meters of the subsoil. "The 3D resistivity model of the central sector of the caldera", explains Antonio Troiano, INGV researcher and co-author of the study, "has been reconstructed with an unprecedented cost-benefit ratio, favored by various factors including the use of technologies, the application of innovative acquisition criteria and original procedures in data analysis, the agility of non-invasive field procedures - despite the use of an active energy source - and the sensitivity of the electrical resistivity in identifying , among the buried structures, the return routes for liquids and gases".
The 3D model used in the study also showed an excellent correlation with the hypocenters of the surface earthquakes that occurred between 2011 and 2019, giving clearer indications on the most active structures and faults in the studied area.
"Thanks to the detail with which the depth structures of the Solfatara volcano, the Pisciarelli degassing area, the Agnano plain and other structures in the sector were defined for the first time", adds Roberto Isaia, first INGV researcher and co- author of the study, "our research represents an important element of novelty in the framework of the structural knowledge of the Campi Flegrei caldera".
The results obtained proved to be of fundamental importance in defining the key elements for understanding the dynamics of the Campi Flegrei, probably driven by the deeper structures present in the sector.
"The sector of the Phlegrean caldera reconstructed from the electric tomography is considered among those with the greatest probability of opening new eruptive vents in the event of a resumption of volcanic activity", concludes Troiano, "the results of this research will help us to provide useful elements to develop and improve physical-mathematical models aimed at understanding the current fumarolic, hydrothermal and seismic phenomena as well as their possible evolution".
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Figure 1 - (a) 3D model of electrical resistivity obtained from the ERT survey. (B) Electric resistivity sections along selected traces. (C) Map of the area investigated by the ERT survey. The squares indicate the location of the measuring stations, the colored lines the traces of the sections.
Figure 2 - (a) Electric resistivity isosurfaces extracted from the 3D model; (B) plan view; (C) front view; (D) details of the structure of the Solfatara volcano; (E) details of the Pisciarelli fumarolic field structure.
Figure 3 - 3D-ERT model: (a) oblique view with the hypocenters of the earthquakes that occurred between 2011 and 2019; (B) plan view with localization of the most superficial earthquakes (depth < 1 km).