THE VOLUME AND SHAPE OF THE 1991-1993 LAVA FLOW-FIELD AT MOUNT ETNA, SICILY

The 1991-1993 lava flow is the most voluminous flow erupted at Mount E tna, Sicily, in over 300 years. Estimates of the volume obtained by va rious methods range from 205 x 10(6) m(3) (Tanguy 1996) to over 500 x 10(6) m(3) (Barberi et al. 1993). This paper describes the results of an electronic distance measurement (EDM)-based field survey of the upp er surface of the 1991-1993 flow field undertaken in 1995. The re suit s were digitised, interpolated and converted into a digital elevation model and then compared with a pre eruption digital elevation model, c onstructed from a 1:25 000 contour map of the area, based on 1989 aeri al photographs. Our measurements are the most accurate to date and sho w that the 1991-1993 lava flow occupies a volume of 231 +/- 29 x 10(6) m(3).