Real-time mobile GNSS network data acquired during the 2021–2022 unrest at Vulcano island

Abstract

At the end of the summer 2021, an increase in CO₂ emissions at Vulcano brought an increase in the alert level and, consequently, to the upgrade of the monitoring activities by increasing the number of instruments deployed and the rate of the surveys. One of the new devices installed was a geodetic GNSS mobile network for a real-time and high-frequency monitoring of ground deformation, to increase the detail with respect to the existing permanent network. The mobile stations were initially installed at the northern base of the La Fossa crater, where the highest values of soil degassing were recorded. Two stations were co-located with gravimeters, in order to compare and integrate the data. After this very first period of testing, the mobile GNSS array has been reconfigured, to investigate the mud pool area. Thus, four stations were installed around the degassing area, one of them being in the same site of the gravimeter. Data has been acquired at 1 Hz rate and is used for the weekly reporting to Civil Protection. It was the first experience of a light and quick-to-install geodetic real-time and high-rate GNSS mobile network in this area, and it was the occasion for testing its performance, as well as different approaches for the real-time kinematic (RTK) differential positioning in order to find the most suitable for the ongoing phenomena. Furthermore, direct data communication and archiving in the institutional database have been implemented for immediate querying from the control room tools. We report the experiences collected during the installation phase, site selection, RTK approaches, and ground motion and provide the daily raw data in RINEX format for any future precise postprocessing for the mid- to long-term analyses.