Another powerful explosion at Stromboli volcano, Italy

Another powerful explosion took place at Stromboli volcano in Italy on November 16, 2020, just days after a sequence of powerful explosions on November 10. 2020.

According to the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo, an explosion of major intensity took place at 09:17 UTC at the central-southern crater area.

The ejected products have fallen abundantly along the Sciara del Fuoco. 

From the seismological standpoint, the event, which is well visible on all seismic stations on Stromboli, was characterized by a sequence of explosive events and pyroclastic flow, lasting 4 minutes. As for the volcanic tremor amplitude, no significant variations were seen.

Images below, recorded by the thermal (SCT) and visual (SCV) surveillance cameras, show the start of the explosion and currents of hot material running down the Sciara del Fuoco.

A sequence of powerful explosions took place at the volcano on November 6, 2020, starting at 20:04 UTC.

The event lasted about 6 minutes and produced an eruption column that rose higher than the Pizzo Sopra la Fossa (elevation 400 m / 1 312 feet — an area atop the volcano about 100 m / 328 feet above the crater terrace).

The products of the explosion were mainly distributed over the Sciara del Fuoco and led to abundant pyroclastic material rolling down.

Geological summary

Spectacular incandescent nighttime explosions at this 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 (3 031 feet) island 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 5 000 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 5 000 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 for more than a millennium. (GVP)

Featured image credit: INGV