A high speed microwave interferometer used for monitoring Stromboli volcano

This work reports on the results obtained with a high speed ground based radar interferometer applied to the monitoring of the explosive activity of Stromboli volcano, Italy. The sensor illuminated a few craters below the summit distinguishing among them according to their distances from the sensor. The sampling rate allowed tracking the craters´ movements even while they were erupting providing information about both the area affected from the deformation and its extent. Radar data were compared with seismic signals from the permanent monitoring network. The comparison demonstrated that the radar interferometer is a powerful device for retrieving ground deformation before and after an explosive event. In particular, eruptions were clearly identified from the observation of peculiar characteristics of the amplitude, phase and coherence data.