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.