Analysis of the aseismic deformation referred to the Ripe della Naca fault system (Mt. Etna): a volcano tectonic approach through geological and geophysical data

The Ripe Della Naca Fault System striking ENE-WSW near the North-Eastern sector of Mt. Etna Volcano. This Area is affected by several active faults related to the NNW-SSE oriented extensional dynamics [De Guidi et al., 2012; Monaco et al., 2010]. During 1928, an historical eruptive event occurred in the studied area [Branca et al., 2017]. In particular, the propagation of the fracture-fissure system gave rise to the 1928 eruption mentioned above and was controlled by the tectonic lineaments of the Ripe Della Naca fault system. Thus, in this work we present a directly focused study on the Ripe Della Naca Fault System with the aim to provides its geometrics and kinematics features through a multidisciplinary approach, combining geological, morphological, seismic and geodetic data. We also provide the compute of the fault related stresses field in order to better understand the volcano-tectonic processes related to magma ascent and regional stresses interacting in this area. In particular, we provided: i) a schematic profile showing Ripe Della Naca geometry in depth and surface morphology; ii) the analysis and the compute of the fault related stresses field by using Coulomb and Griffth Criterions [Griffith, 1924] and also the TDE’s (Triangular Dislocation Elements; [Meade, 2007]) method, at various depths (e.g., 1 km, 2 km 3 km); iii) the model of the Ripe Della Naca Fault plane by using Midland Valley’s Move software (academic grant). The results obtained through the above mentioned workflow, allowed us to define a clear volcano-tectonic conceptual model, useful to study similar settings and scenarios.