Accurate assessment of 3D crustal velocity and density parameters: Application to Vesuvius data sets

This study brings insight into the main velocity and density structural units of Mt. Vesuvius, which include a C shaped negative anomaly surrounding the flanks of the crater up to depths of 6 km. This anomaly is bordered in the south by a strip of high density gradients which run parallel to the Sorrento peninsula, and in the east by an intruding Mesozoic carbonate basement structure. We observe evidence for the thinning of the hard dolomites in the north-western and south-eastern part of the model, related to previously observed NW-SE and SW-NE collapse faults within the Plio-Pleistocene graben of the Campanian plain. Beneath the volcano edifice, we find a positive and thick intrusion anomaly which we compare to the results of previous studies. The reliability of the reconstructed models is quantified through a restoring test and the estimation of traveltimes and gravity residuals.