Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Geological evolution of Mount Etna volcano (Italy) from earliest products until the first central volcanism (between 500 and 100 ka ago) inferred from geochronological and stratigraphic data

  • Review Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Earth Sciences Aims and scope Submit manuscript

    We’re sorry, something doesn't seem to be working properly.

    Please try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, please contact support so we can address the problem.

An Erratum to this article was published on 19 January 2008

Abstract

We present an updated geological evolution of Mount Etna volcano based on new 40Ar/39Ar age determinations and stratigraphic data integrating the previous K/Ar ages. Volcanism began at about 500 ka ago through submarine eruptions on the Gela–Catania Foredeep basin. About 300 ka ago fissure-type eruptions occurred on the ancient alluvial plain of the Simeto River forming a lava plateau. From about 220 ka ago the eruptive activity was localised mainly along the Ionian coast where fissure-type eruptions built a shield volcano. Between 129 and 126 ka ago volcanism shifted westward toward the central portion of the present volcano (Val Calanna–Moscarello area). Furthermore, scattered effusive eruptions on the southern periphery of Etna edifice occurred until about 121 ka ago. The stabilization of the plumbing system on the Valle del Bove area is marked by the building of two small polygenic edifices, Tarderia and Rocche volcanoes. Their eruptive activity was rather coeval ending 106 and 102 ka ago, respectively. During the investigated time-span volcanism in Etna region was controlled by a main E–W extensional tectonic related to the reactivation of Malta Escarpment fault system in eastern Sicily.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Adam J, Reuther CD, Grasso M, Torelli L (2000) Active fault kinematics and crustal stresses along the Ionian margin of southeastern Sicily. Tectonophysics 326:217–239

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Argnani A, Bonazzi C (2005) Malta Escarpment fault zone offshore eastern Sicily: Pliocene-Quaternary tectonic evolution based on new multichannel seismic data. Tectonics 24 (4) DOI: 10.1029/2004TC001656

  • Azzaro R (1999) Earthquake surface faulting at Mount Etna volcano (Sicily) and implications for active tectonics. J Geodyn 28:193–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Azzaro R (2004) Seismicity and active tectonics in the etna region: constraints for a seismotectonic model. In: Bonaccorso A, Calvari S, Coltelli M, Del Negro C, Falsaperla S (eds) Mt Etna Volcano Laboratory. AGU (Geophysical monograph series) 143:205–220

  • Ben Avraham Z, Grasso M (1990) Collisional zone segmentation in Sicily and surrounding areas in the central Mediterranean. Ann Tectonicae 4:131–139

    Google Scholar 

  • Bousquet JC, Lanzafame G (2004) The tectonic and geodynamics of Mt. Etna: synthesis and interpretation of geological and geophysical data. In: Bonaccorso A, Calvari S, Coltelli M, Del Negro C, Falsaperla S (eds). Mt Etna Volcano Laboratory. AGU (Geophysical monograph series) 143:29–49

  • Branca S, Coltelli M, Groppelli G (2004a) Geological evolution of Etna volcano. In: Bonaccorso A, Calvari S, Coltelli M, Del Negro C, Falsaperla S (eds). Mt Etna Volcano Laboratory. AGU (Geophysical monograph series) 143:49–63

  • Branca S, Coltelli M, Del Carlo P, Groppelli G, Norini G, Pasquaré G (2004b) Stratigraphical approaches and tools in the geological mapping of Mt. Etna Volcano. In: Pasquarè G, Venturini C (eds) Mapping geology in Italy. APAT-Dipartimento Difesa del Suolo, Servizio Geologico d’Italia, S.EL.CA, Firenze, pp 145–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Branca S, Coltelli M, Groppelli G, Lentini F (2004c) Geological Map of Mount Etna (Italy) 1:50,000 Scale. In: 32nd International geological congress (32IGC), Florence (Italy) abstract volume, pt. 1, 35–20, pp 188

  • Busà T, Cristofolini R (2001) Rilevamento geo-petrografico delle vulcaniti esposte lungo le “Timpe di Moscarello” (basso versante orientale dell’Etna): evidenze di una migrazione dell’attività dei centri eruttivi. Boll Soc Geol Ital 120:69–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Calvari S, Groppelli G, Pasquarè G (1994) Preliminary geological data on the south-western wall of the Vale del Bove, Mt. Etna (Sicily). Acta Vulcanol 5:15–30

    Google Scholar 

  • Carveni P, Grasso M, Romano R, Tricomi S (1991) Vulcanismo del margine settentrionale ibleo. Mem Soc Geol Ital 47:417–429

    Google Scholar 

  • Chappel J, Shackleton NJ (1986) Oxygen isotopes and sea level. Nature 324:137–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chester DK, Duncan AM (1979) Interrelationships between volcanic and alluvial sequences in the evolution of the Simeto River Valley, Mount Etna, Sicily. Catena 6:293–315

    Google Scholar 

  • Chester DK, Ducan AM, Guest J E, Kilburn CRJ (1985) Mount Etna the anatomy of a volcano. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 1–404

  • Cifelli F, Rossetti F, Mattei M, Hirt AM, Funiciello R, Tortorici L (2004) An AMS, structural and paleomagnetic study of quatenary deformation in eastern Sicily. J Struct Geol 26:29–46

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coltelli M, Garduno VH, Neri M, Pasquarè G, Pompilio M (1994) Geology of the northern wall of the Valle del Bove, Mt Etna (Sicily). Acta Vulcanol 5:55–68

    Google Scholar 

  • Coltelli M, Del Carlo P, Vezzoli L (2000) Stratigraphic constraints for explosive activity in the last 100 ka at Etna volcano, Italy. Int J Earth Sci 89:665–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Condomines M, Tanguy JC, Kieffer G, Allègre CJ (1982) Magma evolution of a volcano studied by 230Th-238U disequilibrium and trace element systematics: the Etna case. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 46:1397–1416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corsaro RA, Cristofolini R (1997) Geology, geochemistry and mineral chemistry of tholeiitic to transitional Etnean magmas. Acta Vulcanol 9(1–2):55–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Corsaro RA, Cristofolini R (2000) Subaqueous volcanism in the Etnaean area: evidence for hydromagmatic activity and regional uplift inferred from the Castel Rock of Acicastello. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 95:209–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corsaro RA, Pompilio M (2004) Dynamics of magmas at Mount Etna. In: Bonaccorso A, Calvari S, Coltelli M, Del Negro C, Falsaperla S (eds) Mt Etna Volcano Laboratory. AGU (Geophysical monograph series) 143:91–110

  • Corsaro RA, Neri M, Pompilio M (2002) Paleo-environmental and volcano-tectonic evolution of the southeastern flank of Mt. Etna during the last 225 ka inferred from the volcanic succession of the “Timpe”, Acireale, Sicily. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 113:289–306

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cristofolini R, Patanè G, Rasà R (1978) Studio morfo-strutturale del versante orientale etneo. Mem Soc Geol Ital 19:613–620

    Google Scholar 

  • Cristofolini R, Patanè G, Recupero S (1982) Morphologic evidence for ancient volcanic centers and indications of magma reservoirs underneath Mt. Etna, Sicily. Geografia Fisica e Dinamica Quaternaria 5:3–9

    Google Scholar 

  • Cristofolini R, Corsaro RA, Ferlito C (1991) Variazioni petrochimiche nella successione etnea: un riesame in base a nuovi dati da campioni di superficie e da sondaggi. Acta Vulcanol 1:25–37

    Google Scholar 

  • De Beni E, Wijbrans JR, Branca S, Coltelli M, Groppelli G. (2005) New results of 40Ar/39Ar dating constrain the timing of transition from fissure-type to central volcanism at Mount Etna (Italy). Terra Nova 17(3):292–298

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Di Stefano A, Branca S (2002) Long-term uplift rate of the Etna volcano basament (southern Italy) based on biochronological data from Pleistocene sediments. Terra Nova 14:61–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunai TJ, Wijbrans JR (2000) Long-term cosmogenic 3He production rates (152 ka-1.35 Ma) from 40Ar/39Ar dated basalt flows at 29°N latitude. Earth Planet Sci Lett 176:147–156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finetti I (1982) Structure, stratigraphy and evolution of the Central Mediterranean. Boll Geof Teore Appl 24:247–426

    Google Scholar 

  • Firth C, Stewart I, McGuire WJ, Vita-Finzi C (1996) Coastal elevation changes in eastern Sicily: implication for volcano instability at Mount Etna. In: McGuire WJ, Jones AP, Neuberg J (eds) Volcano instability on the Earth and other planets. Geol Soc London, Spec Pub 110:153–167

  • Gillot PY, Keiffer G, Romano R (1994) The evolution of Mount Etna in the light of potassium-argon dating. Acta Vulcanol 5:81–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Goes S, Giardini D, Jenny S, Hollenstein C, Kahle HG, Geiger A (2004) A recent tectonic reorganization in the south-central Mediterranean. Earth Planet Sci Lett 226:335–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirn A, Nicolich R, Gallart J, Laigle M, Cernobori L (1997) ETNASEIS Scientific Group, Roots of Etna volcano in faults of great earthquakes. Earth Planet Sci Lett 148:171–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kieffer G, Tanguy JC (1993) L’Etna: evolution structurale, magmatique et dynamique d’un volcan “polygenique”. Mem Soc Geol France 163:253–271

    Google Scholar 

  • Koppers AAP (2002) ArArCALC-software for 40Ar/39Ar age calculations. Comput Geosci 28:605–619

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Labaume P, Bousquet JC, Lanzafame G (1990) Early deformations at a submarine compressive front: the Quaternary catania foredeep south Mt. Etna, Sicily. Tectonophysics 177:349–366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lanzafame G, Neri M, Coltelli M, Lodato L, Rust D (1997) North-South compression in the Mt. Etna region (Sicily): spatial and temporal distribution. Acta Vulcanol 9:121–133

    Google Scholar 

  • Lentini F (1982) The geology of the Mt. Etna basement. Mem Soc Geol Ital 23:7–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Lo Giudice E, Patané G, Rasà R, Romano R (1982) The structural framework of Mount Etna. Mem Soc Geol Ital 23:125–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Pasquarè G, Abbate E, Castiglioni GB, Merenda M, Mutti E, Ortolani F, Parotto M, Pignone R, Polino R, Sassi FP (1992) Carta Geologica d’Italia 1:50,000 Guida al Rilevamento. Quaderni series III 1:1–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Rittmann A (1973) Structure and evolution of Mount Etna. Philos Trans R Soc Lond 274:5–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romano R (1982) Succession of the volcanic activity in the etnean area. Mem Soc Geol Ital 23:27–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Romano R, Lentini F, Sturiale C et al (1979) Carta Geologica del Monte Etna. Scala 1:50,000. In: Mem Soc Geol Ital 23 (1982)

  • Romano R, Sturiale C (1981) Geologia del versante Sud-orientale Etneo, F° 270 IV. Boll Soc Geol Ital 100:15–40

    Google Scholar 

  • Salvador A (1987) Uncorformity-bounded stratigraphic units. Geol Soc Am Bull 98:232–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salvador A (1994) International stratigraphic guide, GSA Salvador A (ed) Boulder, pp 1–214

  • Scandone P, Patacca E, Rodoicic R, Ryan WBF, Cita B, Rawason M, Cherazan H, Miller E, McKenzie J, Rossi S (1981) Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocks from Malta Escarpment (Central Mediterranean). AAPG Bull 65:1299–1319

    Google Scholar 

  • Schmincke HK, Behncke B, Grasso M, Raffi S (1997) Evolution of the northwestern Hyblean Mountains, Sicily: uplift, Pliocene/Pleistocene sea-level changes, paleoenviroment, and volcanism. Geol Rundsch 86:637–669

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Servizio Geologico d’Italia (2006) Carta Geologica d’Italia F° 625 Acireale, scala 1:50,000. CNR-APAT Dipartimento Difesa del Suolo (in press)

  • Torelli L, Grasso M, Mazzoldi G, Peis D (1998) Plio-Quaternary tectonic evolution and structure of the Catania foredeep, the northern Hyblean Plateau and the Ionian shelf (SE Sicliy). Tectonophysics 298:209–221

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanguy JC (1978) Tholeiitic basalt magmatism of Mount Etna and its relations with the alkaline series. Contrib Mineral Petrol 66:51–67

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanguy JC, Condomines M, Kieffer G (1997) Evolution of the Mount Etna magma: constraints on the present feeding system and eruptive mechanism. J Volcanol Geotherm Res 75:221–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tric E, Valet JP, Gillot PY, Lemeur I (1994) Absolute paleo-intensities between 60 and 160 k year from Mount Etna (Sicily). Phys Earth Planet Int 85:113–129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijbrans JR, Pringle MS, Koppers AAP, Scheveers R (1995) Argon geochronology of small samples using the Vulcaan argon laser probe. Proc. Kon Ned Akad V Wetensh 98:185–218

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to G. Groppelli for the critical discussion about the geological and stratigraphic arguments. We wish to thank DK. Chester and JC. Tanguy for the revision of the manuscript. Petrographic analyses were performed at the laboratories of the INGV-Sezione di Catania. The research was supported by INGV-DPC V3_6/07 project and CNR-IDPA fund. The paper is dedicated to the newborn Federico.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia-Sezione di Catania, Piazza Roma 2, 95123, Catania, Italy

    Stefano Branca, Mauro Coltelli & Emanuela De Beni

  2. Faculteit der Aardwetenschappen, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Jan Wijbrans

Authors
  1. Stefano Branca
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mauro Coltelli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Emanuela De Beni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jan Wijbrans
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Stefano Branca.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00531-008-0298-z

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM1 (DOC 1.58 Mb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Branca, S., Coltelli, M., De Beni, E. et al. Geological evolution of Mount Etna volcano (Italy) from earliest products until the first central volcanism (between 500 and 100 ka ago) inferred from geochronological and stratigraphic data. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 97, 135–152 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-006-0152-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-006-0152-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation