Seismic Evidence for a Low-Velocity Zone in the Upper Crust Beneath Mount Vesuvius

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Abstract
A two-dimensional active seismic experiment was performed on Mount Vesuvius: Explosive charges were set off at three sites, and the seismic signal along a dense line of 82 seismometers was recorded. A high-velocity basement, formed by Mesozoic carbonates, was identified 2 to 3 kilometers beneath the volcano. A slower (P-wave velocity VP ∼ 3.4 to 3.8 kilometers per second) and shallower high-velocity zone underlies the central part of the volcano. Large-amplitude late arrivals with a dominant horizontal wave motion and low-frequency content were identified as a P to S phase converted at a depth of about 10 kilometers at the top of a low-velocity zone (VP < 3 kilometers per second), which might represent a melting zone.