Lava overflow at Stromboli volcano, Italy

Monitoring networks at Stromboli volcano recorded lava overflow from the volcano’s North crater area starting at 17:30 UTC on July 27, 2022.

From the seismic point of view, there was a slight increase in the tremor at 17:04 UTC, which returned to previous values in about 30 minutes.

From the station signals of the clinometric networks and GNSS, you can’t avoid noticeable soil deformations, INGV said.¹

All parameters returned to normal at 07:24 UTC on July 28.

The event comes two days after a series of strong explosions in the crater area.²

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.³

References:

¹ VOLCANIC ACTIVITY REPORT FOR STROMBOLI – INGV-OE – July 27, 2022

² Series of explosions at Stromboli volcano, Italy – The Watchers – July 25, 2022

³ Stromboli – Geological summary – GVP

Featured image credit: INGV-OE