Violent eruption at Etna volcano, Italy

Another phase of intense strombolian activity started at Etna’s Voragin crater during the afternoon hours of August 14, 2024, and over the next couple of hours evolved into violent lava fountaining — the 6^th paroxysm at the volcano since July 4 when the series started.

INGV’s Etna Observatory reported a sudden increase in volcanic tremor toward high values was observed at 15:00 UTC on August 14, located east of the Voragine crater at an altitude of 3 km (1.8 miles), resulting in a new episode of Strombolian activity. This activity followed a gradual increase from low to medium values over the past 7 days.

As a result, the Aviation Color Code was raised from Orange to Red at 17:16 UTC.

In an update posted at 23:02 UTC, the observatory reported strong strombolian activity observed over the past couple of hours has transitioned into sustained lava fountaining, generating an ash plume, which, according to the forecast model, was dispersing toward the ESE.

Ashfall has been reported in the localities of Piano Vetore, Nicolosi, and Ragalna, with light ashfall also observed in Catania.

Additionally, the lava fountaining was observed feeding a lava flow from the western rim of the Bocca Nuova crater.

Infrasonic activity has also significantly intensified, both in terms of event frequency and amplitude, with sources localized at the Voragine crater.

While the GNSS network data did not show significant ground deformation, the clinometric network indicated slight tilting at the summit stations CPN and PDN, with recorded variations of 1.5 and 0.4 mrad, respectively.

This marked the beginning of 6^th paroxysmal eruptive episode at Etna since the series started on July 4, 2024.

The episode began to wane around 00:30 UTC on August 15 and ceased by approximately 01:20 UTC.

The lava fountain generated an eruptive plume that, during its peak intensity, reached an altitude of about 9.5 km (31 200 feet) above sea level and was primarily dispersed towards the SSW and ESE sectors. Pyroclastic fallout was reported in the localities of Piano Vetore, Nicolosi, Ragalna, and Pedara, with light ashfall also noted in Catania.

The lava fountain also produced lava overflows from the western rim of the Bocca Nuova crater.

The volcanic tremor, after reaching a peak at 22:50 UTC on August 14, has since rapidly declined to average levels. The tremor sources, which were located beneath the Voragine crater during the peak amplitude, have shifted slightly eastward as of 01:00 UTC.

Infrasonic activity has significantly decreased, with only a few events currently localized between the Voragine and North-East craters.

During the lava fountain, the GNSS network did not record significant ground deformation. However, the clinometer network registered tilting of 1.0 and 3.5 microradians at the summit stations PDN and CPN, respectively. Additionally, the DRUV dilatometer station recorded a total decompression of approximately 300 nanostrains, beginning at 18:40 UTC and continuing until 00:50 UTC on August 15.

The Aviation Color Code was lowered back to Orange at 04:19 UTC today.

References:

¹ Etna volcano updates – INGV-OE – August 14 and 15, 2024

Teo Blašković

I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.

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