New lava flows observed on the Sciara del Fuoco, Stromboli volcano – Italy
Featured image: Lava flows on Stromboli volcano, Italy, on July 10, 2014. Image credit: INGV-OE Catania
Two new lava overflows occurred from the NE vent of Stromboli volcano – Aeolian Islands, Italy, last evening and this morning, July 10, 2014.
Similar as during the previous episodes, the flows were the result of surges in magma supply, quickly descended the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco, and then stopped, VolcanoDiscovery reports.
Video courtesy of VolcanoDiscovery
Geologic summary
Spectacular incandescent nighttime explosions at Stromboli volcano have long attracted visitors to the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean." Stromboli, the NE-most of the Aeolian Islands, has lent its name to the frequent mild explosive activity that has characterized its eruptions throughout much of historical time. The small, 924-m-high island of Stromboli is the emergent summit of a volcano that grew in two main eruptive cycles, the last of which formed the western portion of the island. The Neostromboli eruptive period from about 13,000 to 5000 years ago was followed by formation of the modern Stromboli edifice.
The active summit vents are located at the head of the Sciara del Fuoco, a prominent horseshoe-shaped scarp formed about 5000 years ago as a result of the most recent of a series of slope failures that extend to below sea level. The modern volcano has been constructed within this scarp, which funnels pyroclastic ejecta and lava flows to the NW. Essentially continuous mild strombolian explosions, sometimes accompanied by lava flows, have been recorded at Stromboli for more than a millennium. (GVP)
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