Potential-field modeling of collapse-prone submarine volcanoes in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy)

Hydrothermal alteration may weaken volcanic rocks, causing the gravitational instability of portions of active volcanoes with potentially hazardous collapses. Here we show high-resolution multibeam, magnetic and gravity surveys of the Marsili seamount, the largest active volcano of Europe located in the southern Tyrrhenian back-arc basin. These surveys reveal zones with exceptionally low densities and with vanishing magnetizations, due probably to the comminution of basalts during hyaloclastic submarine eruptions and to their post-eruptive hydrothermal alteration. The location of these regions correlates with morphological data showing the occurrence of past collapses. Similar evidence has been obtained from pre-existing data at Vavilov Seamount, another older volcanic system in the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin. Here a large volume of at least 50 km3 may have collapsed in a single event from its 40 km long western flank. Given the similarities between these volcanoes, a large collapse event may also be expected at Marsili. Copyright © 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.