EtnaUpdater @EtnaUpdater@qoto.org

#introduction

Hello everyone!
My name is Oliver Beck. I'm here mainly to report on the current activity of the Mt Etna volcano. I was infected by the volcano virus as an 11-year-old boy when I visited Etna in the summer of 1979 and was able to observe explosive activity directly at the summit craters. In 2002 I returned to the mountain and in 2004 I started to report regularly about Mt Etna in German language on my website. Since then I have climbed the volcano many times and experienced several #eruptions.
Of course I am also interested in other volcanoes (LaPalma, Stromboli, Turrialba and many more) and volcanology in general. I love stones and minerals and their chemistry. So I hope to learn more here as well. I live in Hesse (Germany) on the edge of the Vogelsberg. This is the largest extinct volcanic area in Europe. I love nature and hiking. I like to visit abandoned quarries, which reveal a lot about the former activity of the Vogelsberg. So I will also report about my backyard geology here from time to time.
I work as a laboratory assistant at a large pharmaceutical company, where I deal with instrumental analysis (GC, HPLC). My focus is not only on chemistry, but also on Chromatography Data System support and software development. Besides volcanology, programming is another of my great passions. At the moment I work a lot with C#, VBA and SQL. It all started with a Commodore 64, where after BASIC I soon switched to Assembler and then to Pascal. Later I worked a lot with Perl, C++, Java and Javascript.
Other interests of mine are my garden, cooking and my Sphinx cats.

#Etna, #volcano, #volcanology, #eruption, #sicilia, #catania, #lapalma, #stromboli, #INGV, #stones, #minerals, #chemistry, #Vogelsberg, #chemistry, #C#, #C++, #VBA, #SQL, #perl, #java, #javascript, #sphinxcats

Short update - Mt Etna, Sicily - 29.03.2025

In the last 14 days, further Strombolian episodes have occurred at the South East Crater of Mt Etna:
Accompanied by strongly increasing tremor, weak Strombolian explosions were visible at the former saddle vent of the South East Crater on the evening of 19 March. The vent located above the large southern breach continued to increase its activity until midnight and finally powerful Strombolian explosions hurled glowing material onto the southern and eastern flanks of the New South East Crater cone. Further vents on the upper north-west flank of the cone also became active. After about 02:30 the intensity of the explosions decreased again and at sunrise the activity was already significantly reduced.
A similar episode began on the morning of 24 March, but it took place in very bad weather. The fading Strombolian activity at the South East Crater could only be observed in the evening.
Another Strombolian episode is likely to have occurred on 28 March, as the tremor again increased sharply for a few hours, but dense clouds and fresh snow prevented any observation via webcams.

#etna #eruption #volcano

This INGV-webcam photo shows the Strombolian activity at the South East Crater on the morning of 20 March. The explosions that began the evening before have already weakened:

Short update - Mt Etna, Sicily - 16.03.2025

After almost 14 days of quiet gas emission at the summit craters, mild Strombolian activity suddenly began at Mt Etna's South East Crater on the evening of 15 March. During the night of 16 March, the activity increased significantly and there were some powerful Strombolian explosions. The event was accompanied by rapidly increasing tremor. On 16 March, the tremor fell back to a medium level and the eruptive activity came to an end.

#etna #eruption #volcano

This INGV-webcam photo from the late evening of 15 March shows the strombolian activity at the South East Crater. The vent, which is located above the large southern breach, throws the glowing pyroclastic material about 100 metres upwards. Individual bombs reach the south-eastern base of the cone (lower right half of the image):

Short update - Mt Etna, Sicily - 24.02.2025

Mt Etna is back in action!
During the night of 23 February, the emission of lava at the euptive fissure below Bocca Nuova intensified again. In the evening, strombolian activity was visible on the north-west flank of the old South East Crater cone and the lava flow appeared even better fed than in the early morning. At the same time, the tremor increased significantly and once again reached a high level. The eruptive activity continued unchanged on 24 February.

#etna #eruption #volcano

The South East Crater at sunset by INGV-Webcam. In the background you can see clouds illuminated in red, which originate from the Strombolian activity on the north-west flank of the cone:

Short update - Mt Etna, Sicily - 19.02.2025

The volcanic tremor on Mount Etna has been dropping significantly for a few hours now. Is the eruption, which has been going on since 8 February, coming to an end?

#etna #eruption #volcano

Tremor chart by INGV - Station "Cratere del Piano":

Farewell you beautiful patch of nature!

I loved this area, called Galverina, with its green meadows, old rocks and flowering plants and always enjoyed visiting it. Today it has been largely destroyed by the lava flow of Mount Etna.

The mountain gives life and takes it away again...

#etna #photo #eruption

https://bsky.app/profile/aivulcan.bsky.social/post/3licp5erd7s2x.

Short update - Mt Etna, Sicily - 16.02.2025

Strong explosive activity at Mt Etna's Southeast Crater produced a lot of ash today. It travelled south/southeast and caused many flight cancellations at Catania International Airport. Meanwhile, the front of the lava flow is now moving at an altitude of about 1900 m in the Galvarina area, below Monte Pecoraro. It is not far from the forest track.

#Etna #vulcano #eruption

In this INGV photo, which was taken on the evening of 16 February from Piedimonte Etneo (north of Etna), you can see the ash clouds rising from the old area of the Southeast Crater and moving southeast in the left half of the photo. To the right is the Central Crater cone:

Short update - Mt Etna, Sicily - 14.02.2025

On 14 February, effusive activity continued at the southern base of the Central Crater cone. The lava flow on the south-west flank of the mountain has reached an elevation of approx. 1900 m in the Galvarina area and is approx. 3 km long. The tremor is still at a high level. Since 12 February, the old South-East Crater has been emitting strong and persistent ash and showed mild strombolian activity. A new vent, which had developed during the eruption on the upper north-western flank of the old South-East Crater, released steam, gas and some dark ash as well as occasionally some incandescent material from 11 February onwards.

#Etna #vulcano #eruption

This INGV webcam photo, taken on the evening of 13 February, shows the lava flow on the left, which flows down the southern flank in a south-westerly direction. The interaction with the snow cover produces a lot of water vapour, which is illuminated by the lava flow. On the right, a small strombolian explosion can be seen at the South-East Crater: