EtnaUpdater @EtnaUpdater@qoto.org
Volcanophilic nerd & #volcano hiker blogging about Mt #Etna since 2004. Find tweets about Etna and also my backyard geology, the #Vogelsberg area.
Joined Nov 2022
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.
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.
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.
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:
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...
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.
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.
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:
Short update - Mt Etna, Sicily - 08.02.2025
As reported by INGV, the emission of a lava flow was observed this evening at 18:35 at the south-eastern base of Mt Etna's summit crater Bocca Nuova. The lava flow originates from a point at an altitude of 3000 metres between Bocca Nuova and the Southeast Crater complex and is moving towards Monte Frumento Supino.
As further reported, mild explosive activity had already occurred temporarily at the Southeast Crater on 6 February. Today the tremor was at a medium level with fluctuations. The source of the tremor was below the Southeast Crater at an altitude of 2800 - 3000 metres. The infrasound activity was very low today, while it was moderate on the previous days and emanated from the Southeast Crater. Only a very small deformation of the volcanic edifice was measured (tenths of a microradian at Cratere del Piano station).
In this context, it is interesting to note that a new thermal anomaly was detected today during the overflight of the Sentinel-2 satellite. It was located on the upper eastern flank of Bocca Nuova. It is possible that a new vent has opened there that either only emitted hot gas or has developed into the effusive vent that feeds the new lava flow.
This INGV webcam photo from this evening shows the situation at the southern base of Bocca Nuova or the Central Crater cone. Two glowing areas can be seen in the left half of the image, which mark the course of the lava flow. The upper, more easterly section of the lava flow probably lies behind the lava fields of the South East Crater and is therefore presumably obscured:
Short update - Mt Etna, Sicily - 31.12.24
Since mid-November, there has been calm gas emission at the summit craters of Mt Etna, which is mainly concentrated on the Voragine and the New South East Crater.
Previously, the 7th paroxysm of 2024 had occurred at Voragine on 10 November. The summit crater produced lava fountains during very bad weather conditions and released a short lava flow. Ash fell on the villages on the eastern flank of Mt Etna. In July and August, the paroxysmal episodes of the Voragine produced lava fountains up to 1000 metres high and the ash rain led to the closure of Catania's international airport on several occasions. A new intracrater cone grew in the Voragine and the lava flows buried the crater of the Bocca Nuova and flowed down the south-western to western flank of the Central Crater cone. As a result of this violent activity, the Voragine grew in height and became the highest point of the mountain at 3404 metres.
This INGV webcam photo from the morning of 26 December shows the New South East Crater in the centre of the image, which continues to emit gas. To the right above the South East Crater, you can see the Voragine, which continues to emit gas. To the right is the Northeast Crater, which is currently emitting a white vapour cloud:
Volcanophilic nerd & #volcano hiker blogging about Mt #Etna since 2004. Find tweets about Etna and also my backyard geology, the #Vogelsberg area.
Joined Nov 2022
