A geophysical k-means cluster analysis of the Solfatara-Pisciarelli volcano-geothermal system, Campi Flegrei (Naples, Italy)

We present an application of the k-means cluster analysis technique to a trivariate geophysical parameter set distributed over a 3 km thick and 1.2 km long section through the geothermally active Solfatara-Pisciarelli area of the Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy). The data set consists of resistivity, P-wave velocity and density parameters, extracted from previously modeled univariate sections through the selected profile and mapped in a joint parameter 3D space. Six compact and separated clusters have been identified. A subsequent linear regression statistics has allowed two distinct branches of clusters to be recognized, each represented in the joint parameter space by the equation of a plane. Each equation and its partial derivatives define the peculiar combinations among the used parameters. Once mapped back to the space domain, the final image has provided a grouping of the structures in two superimposed blocks with an irregular interface located at 2 km mean depth. Based on drilling data, subsurface stratigraphy and recent seismic activity, the interface between the two blocks has been interpreted in terms of a substantial change in the rocks rheology inside the Solfatara-Pisciarelli volcano-geothermal system, namely the brittle-to-ductile transition.