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:
