Different procedures were used to analyze a comprehensive time series of nighttime thermal infrared images acquired from October 2006 to June 2013 by a permanent station at Pisciarelli (Campi Flegrei, Italy). The methodologies were aimed at the detection and quantification of possible spatiotemporal changes in the ground-surface thermal features of an area affected by diffuse degassing. Long-term infrared time series images were processed without taking into account atmospheric conditions and emissivity estimations. The data obtained were compared with the trends of independent geophysical and geochemical parameters, which suggested that long-term temporal variations of the surface maximum temperatures were governed by the dynamics of the deeper hydrothermal system. Analogously, the dynamics of the shallow hydrothermal system are likely to control the short-period thermal oscillations that overlie the long-term thermal signals. The map of the yearly rates of temperature change shows temperature increases clustered in the thermal anomalous area of the infrared images, without evidence of modifications to the extension of the anomaly or of growth of new areas with significant thermal emission. This suggests that in the present state, the heat transfer is mainly due to hot gas emission through preexisting fractures and vents. Our data indicate that the comprehensive picture of the spatiotemporal evolution of the thermal features of the hydrothermal sites obtained by long-term infrared monitoring can provide useful information toward refining physical and conceptual models, as well as improving surveillance of active volcanoes.
Ischia is an active volcanic island in the Gulf of Naples whose history has been dominated by a caldera-forming eruption (ca. 55 ka) and resurgence phenomena that have affected the caldera floor and generated a net uplift of about 900 m since 33 ka. The results of new geomorphological, stratigraphical and textural investigations of the products of gravitational movements triggered by volcano-tectonic events have been combined with the information arising from a reinterpretation of historical chronicles on natural phenomena such as earthquakes, ground deformation, gravitational movements and volcanic eruptions. The combined interpretation of all these data shows that gravitational movements, coeval to volcanic activity and uplift events related to the long-lasting resurgence, have affected the highly fractured marginal portions of the most uplifted Mt. Epomeo blocks. Such movements, mostly occurring since 3 ka, include debris avalanches; large debris flows (lahars); smaller mass movements (rock falls, slumps, debris and rock slides, and small debris flows); and deep-seated gravitational slope deformation. The occurrence of submarine deposits linked with subaerial deposits of the most voluminous mass movements clearly shows that the debris avalanches impacted on the sea. The obtained results corroborate the hypothesis that the behaviour of the Ischia volcano is based on an intimate interplay among magmatism, resurgence dynamics, fault generation, seismicity, slope oversteepening and instability, and eruptions. They also highlight that volcano-tectonically triggered mass movements are a potentially hazardous phenomena that have to be taken into account in any attempt to assess volcanic and related hazards at Ischia. Furthermore, the largest mass movements could also flow into the sea, generating tsunami waves that could impact on the island's coast as well as on the neighbouring and densely inhabited coast of the Neapolitan area
Land Surface Temperature (LST) from satellite data is a key component in many aspects of environmental research. In volcanic areas, LST is used to detect ground thermal anomalies providing a supplementary tool to monitor the activity status of a particular volcano. In this work, we describe a procedure aimed at identifying spatial thermal anomalies in thermal infrared (TIR) satellite frames which are corrected for the seasonal influence by using TIR images from ground stations. The procedure was applied to the volcanic area of Campi Flegrei (Italy) using TIR ASTER and Landsat 8 satellite imagery and TIR ground images acquired from the Thermal Infrared volcanic surveillance Network (TIRNet) (INGV, Osservatorio Vesuviano). The continuous TIRNet time-series images were processed to evaluate the seasonal component which was used to correct the surface temperatures estimated by the satellite’s discrete data. The results showed a good correspondence between de-seasoned time series of surface ground temperatures and satellite temperatures. The seasonal correction of satellite surface temperatures allows monitoring of the surface thermal field to be extended to all the satellite frames, covering a wide portion of Campi Flegrei volcanic area.
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