A First Step towards the Definition of a Link between Ground Tilt and Earthquakes at Mt. Vesuvius (Italy)

Abstract

One of the strategies to detect the precursors of an eruption is to define the background dynamical state of a volcano for a prompt recognition of deviations from the basic condition. Mt. Vesuvius (Italy), currently in a quiescent state, is one of the most monitored volcanoes in the world, inciting multidisciplinary advanced studies. Hence an understanding of the links among the different monitored parameters is mandatory. In recent decades the joint analyses of ground tilt and seismicity have added to the understanding of the volcano’s activity. In this paper, we outline the first steps towards a comprehension of the link between Mt. Vesuvius earthquakes and co-seismic ground tilt, after excluding the contribution of other external forces acting on the ground, such as tides, landslides or exceptional meteorological phenomena. We used the seismicity with a duration magnitude ≥ 2.0 recorded at Mt. Vesuvius in the period 2018–2020 to estimate the source parameters and to calculate the associated static displacement. Then, we compared the ground inclination retrieved from the estimated seismic deformation with the long-term ground motion trend measured by tiltmeters. We found that in most cases the two vectors have a comparable size and direction.