Spectacular eruption on Mount Etna.

Mount Etna underwent a major eruption slightly before midnight on Thursday 10 February 2022, producing a column of ash and gas about 8 km high from its southeasten crater, accompanied by lava flows on its flanks, and triggering a lighting storm, a phenomenon associated with the only the largest eruptions, and is caused by static electricity generated as particles within the ash column colide.

 

An ash column over Mount Etna on Thursday 10 February 2022. Salvatore Allegra/AP.

Etna first erupted about half a million years ago, beneath the sea off the east coast of Sicily, and has been going strong ever since. It now stands 3330 m above sea level, and covers 1200 km³. It is responsible for fertile soils across eastern Sicily. Records of eruptions on Etna go back to 1500 BC. It is Europe's second largest volcano, after Teide in the Canary Islands, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

 

Eruption on Mount Etna early in the morning of Friday 12 Febriaury 2022. Alberto Uccellatore/Volcano Discovery.

Despite all this Etna has only ever caused 77 recorded deaths (the most recent being two tourists caught in a summit explosion in 1987) and relatively little destruction. In 1928 it destroyed the village of Mascali on its northeastern flank, though there were no reported casualties, the village being slowly overrun by a lava flow. In 1669 a much larger lava flow destroyed at least 10 villages, reaching the walls of the city of Catania, 40 km to the south, but again without loss of life. In 122 BC a heavy ash fall covered much of the region, causing several buildings to collapse in Catania. The destruction was deemed so severe by the Roman authorities that they granted the city a 10 year tax holiday. In about 6000 BC a landslide on the eastern flank of the volcano is thought to have caused a tsunami that caused destruction around much of the eastern Mediterranean. 

 

The location of Mount Etna. Google Maps.

Etna is located on the border of the African and European Plates, specifically where Africa is being subducted beneath the European Plate. As it is drawn into the Earth's interior material from the African Plate melts, and the lighter portions rise up through the overlying European Plate, causing a number of volcanoes including Etna and Vesuvius.

 

Map showing the tectonic plates underlying Italy and southern Europe, and the location of the l'Aquila Earthquake. Napoli Unplugged.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter.

 

Eruption on Mount Etna showers nearby communities with pebbles.

Mount Etna underwent a major eruption from its southeastern crater on Tuesday 16 February 2021, according to the Italian National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology. The eruption produced new lava flows, and showers of ash and pebble-sized lapilli (rock fragments) as far away as Catania Airport (which was temporarly closed as a result), but is not thought to have presented any danger to nearby communities.

 

An ash column over Mount Etna on 16 February 2021. Salvatore Allegra/AP.

Etna first erupted about half a million years ago, beneath the sea off the east coast of Sicily, and has been going strong ever since. It now stands 3330 m above sea level, and covers 1200 km³. It is responsible for fertile soils across eastern Sicily. Records of eruptions on Etna go back to 1500 BC. It is Europe's second largest volcano, after Teide in the Canary Islands, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

 

Lava fountain on Mount Etna on 16 February 2021. ANSA/AFP.

Despite all this Etna has only ever caused 77 recorded deaths (the most recent being two tourists caught in a summit explosion in 1987) and relatively little destruction. In 1928 it destroyed the village of Mascali on its northeastern flank, though there were no reported casualties, the village being slowly overrun by a lava flow. In 1669 a much larger lava flow destroyed at least 10 villages, reaching the walls of the city of Catania, 40 km to the south, but again without loss of life. In 122 BC a heavy ash fall covered much of the region, causing several buildings to collapse in Catania. The destruction was deemed so severe by the Roman authorities that they granted the city a 10 year tax holiday. In about 6000 BC a landslide on the eastern flank of the volcano is thought to have caused a tsunami that caused destruction around much of the eastern Mediterranean. 

 

The location of Mount Etna. Google Maps.

Etna is located on the border of the African and European Plates, specifically where Africa is being subducted beneath the European Plate. As it is drawn into the Earth's interior material from the African Plate melts, and the lighter portions rise up through the overlying European Plate, causing a number of volcanoes including Etna and Vesuvius.

 

Map showing the tectonic plates underlying Italy and southern Europe, and the location of the l'Aquila Earthquake. Napoli Unplugged.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter.

Eruption on Mount Etna, Sicily.

Mount Etna underwent its first major eruption of 2021 on the night of Monday 19-Tuesday 19 January. A large plume of ash was reported above the volcano, causing the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Center to issue a warning to aviation, and ash falls were reported in the village of Fleri. By the morning of 19 January significant lava flows were visible on the northern and southeastern flanks of the volcano, although these are unlikely to reach any populated areas.

 

Lava flows on the flanks of Mount Etna on 19 January 2020. Wanted in Rome.

Etna first erupted about half a million years ago, beneath the sea off the east coast of Sicily, and has been going strong ever since. It now stands 3330 m above sea level, and covers 1200 km³. It is responsible for fertile soils across eastern Sicily. Records of eruptions on Etna go back to 1500 BC. It is Europe's second largest volcano, after Teide in the Canary Islands, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Despite all this Etna has only ever caused 77 recorded deaths (the most recent being two tourists caught in a summit explosion in 1987) and relatively little destruction. In 1928 it destroyed the village of Mascali on its northeastern flank, though there were no reported casualties, the village being slowly overrun by a lava flow. In 1669 a much larger lava flow destroyed at least 10 villages, reaching the walls of the city of Catania, 40 km to the south, but again without loss of life. In 122 BC a heavy ash fall covered much of the region, causing several buildings to collapse in Catania. The destruction was deemed so severe by the Roman authorities that they granted the city a 10 year tax holiday. In about 6000 BC a landslide on the eastern flank of the volcano is thought to have caused a tsunami that caused destruction around much of the eastern Mediterranean. 

The location of Mount Etna. Google Maps.

Etna is located on the border of the African and European Plates, specifically where Africa is being subducted beneath the European Plate. As it is drawn into the Earth's interior material from the African Plate melts, and the lighter portions rise up through the overlying European Plate, causing a number of volcanoes including Etna, Stromboli, and Vesuvius. 

Map showing the tectonic plates underlying Italy and southern Europe, and the location of the l'Aquila Earthquake. Napoli Unplugged. 

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Twitter.

 

Significant eruption on Mount Etna.

Mount Etna underwent a significant eruption at about 4.10 am local time on Friday 22 May 2020, producing an ash column from its southeast crater (a new feature which first appeared in December 2018), which rose to an altitude of about 4.5 km, lingering for about three and a half hours before dispersing to the southwest. The volcano has been active for some time, producing strombolian eruptions (eruptions in which liquid lava is thrown into the air) from the southeast crater, and small ash clouds from the northeast, or Voragine, crater. 

An ash column over Mount Etna on 22 May 2020. La Stampa.

Etna first erupted about half a million years ago, beneath the sea off the east coast of Sicily, and has been going strong ever since. It now stands 3330 m above sea level, and covers 1200 km³. It is responsible for fertile soils across eastern Sicily. Records of eruptions on Etna go back to 1500 BC. It is Europe's second largest volcano, after Teide in the Canary Islands, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Despite all this Etna has only ever caused 77 recorded deaths (the most recent being two tourists caught in a summit explosion in 1987) and relatively little destruction. In 1928 it destroyed the village of Mascali on its northeastern flank, though there were no reported casualties, the village being slowly overrun by a lava flow. In 1669 a much larger lava flow destroyed at least 10 villages, reaching the walls of the city of Catania, 40 km to the south, but again without loss of life. In 122 BC a heavy ash fall covered much of the region, causing several buildings to collapse in Catania. The destruction was deemed so severe by the Roman authorities that they granted the city a 10 year tax holiday. In about 6000 BC a landslide on the eastern flank of the volcano is thought to have caused a tsunami that caused destruction around much of the eastern Mediterranean. 

 The location of Mount Etna. Google Maps.

Etna is located on the border of the African and European Plates, specifically where Africa is being subducted beneath the European Plate. As it is drawn into the Earth's interior material from the African Plate melts, and the lighter portions rise up through the overlying European Plate, causing a number of volcanoes including Etna and Vesuvius. 

 Map showing the tectonic plates underlying Italy and southern Europe, and the location of the l'Aquila Earthquake. Napoli Unplugged.

  

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Flights over Sicily disrupted by eruption on Mount Etna.

Flights passing over the island of Sicily are being disrupted after the Toulouse Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre issued a warning for aviation to avoid the area around Mount Etna, following an eruption on Friday 11 October 2019. Volcanic ash is extremely hazardous to aircraft in a number of ways. At its most obvious it is opaque, both visually and to radar. Then it is abrasive, ash particles physically scour aircraft, damaging components and frosting windows. However the ash is most dangerous when it is sucked into jet engines, here the high temperatures can melt the tiny silica particles, forming volcanic glass which then clogs engine. When this happens the only hope the aircraft has is to dive sharply, in the hope that cold air passing through the engine during the descent will cause the glass to shatter, allowing the engine to be restarted. Obviously this is a procedure that pilots try to avoid having to perform.

 An ash cloud over Mount Etna on 11 October 2019.  l’Osservatorio Etneo dell’Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia.

Etna first erupted about half a million years ago, beneath the sea off the east coast of Sicily, and has been going strong ever since. It now stands 3330 m above sea level, and covers 1200 km³. It is responsible for fertile soils across eastern Sicily. Records of eruptions on Etna go back to 1500 BC. It is Europe's second largest volcano, after Teide in the Canary Islands, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

Despite all this Etna has only ever caused 77 recorded deaths (the most recent being two tourists caught in a summit explosion in 1987) and relatively little destruction. In 1928 it destroyed the village of Mascali on its northeastern flank, though there were no reported casualties, the village being slowly overrun by a lava flow. In 1669 a much larger lava flow destroyed at least 10 villages, reaching the walls of the city of Catania, 40 km to the south, but again without loss of life. In 122 BC a heavy ash fall covered much of the region, causing several buildings to collapse in Catania. The destruction was deemed so severe by the Roman authorities that they granted the city a 10 year tax holiday. In about 6000 BC a landslide on the eastern flank of the volcano is thought to have caused a tsunami that caused destruction around much of the eastern Mediterranean. 

The location of Mount Etna. Google Maps.

Etna is located on the border of the African and European Plates, specifically where Africa is being subducted beneath the European Plate. As it is drawn into the Earth's interior material from the African Plate melts, and the lighter portions rise up through the overlying European Plate, causing a number of volcanoes including Etna and Vesuvius. 

Map showing the tectonic plates underlying Italy and southern Europe, and the location of the l'Aquila Earthquake. Napoli Unplugged.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.

Mount Etna enters new eruptive phase.

The Etna Observatory of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia has reported a new eruption on Mount Etna, Sicily. The volcano began to erupt overnight between Wednesday 29 and Friday 30 May, producing a dense column of ash that persisted till the afternoon of Thursday 30 May. Following which three new fissures opened up around the New Southeast Crater (a feature which itself appeared in December 2018), two to the southeast and one to the northeast, which produced lava fountains and flows which ran down into the Valle del Bove, the longest reaching about 3 km from the northeast fissure.

The eruptive scene at dawn on 31 May 2019, as recorded by the high-resolution surveillance camera installed at Monte Cagliato, on the eastern slope of Etna, at the lower end of the Valle del Bove. Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia.

Etna first erupted about half a million years ago, beneath the sea off the east coast of Sicily, and has been going strong ever since. It now stands 3330 m above sea level, and covers 1200 km³. It is responsible for fertile soils across eastern Sicily. Records of eruptions on Etna go back to 1500 BC. It is Europe's second largest volcano, after Teide in the Canary Islands, and is one of the most active volcanoes in the world.

 Lava fountains and flows on Mount Etna this week. BBC.

Despite all this Etna has only ever caused 77 recorded deaths (the most recent being two tourists caught in a summit explosion in 1987) and relatively little destruction. In 1928 it destroyed the village of Mascali on its northeastern flank, though there were no reported casualties, the village being slowly overrun by a lava flow. In 1669 a much larger lava flow destroyed at least 10 villages, reaching the walls of the city of Catania, 40 km to the south, but again without loss of life. In 122 BC a heavy ash fall covered much of the region, causing several buildings to collapse in Catania. The destruction was deemed so severe by the Roman authorities that they granted the city a 10 year tax holiday. In about 6000 BC a landslide on the eastern flank of the volcano is thought to have caused a tsunami that caused destruction around much of the eastern Mediterranean. 

 The location of Mount Etna. Google Maps.

 
Etna is located on the border of the African and European Plates, specifically where Africa is being subducted beneath the European Plate. As it is drawn into the Earth's interior material from the African Plate melts, and the lighter portions rise up through the overlying European Plate, causing a number of volcanoes including Etna and Vesuvius.

 Map showing the tectonic plates underlying Italy and southern Europe, and the location of the l'Aquila Earthquake. Napoli Unplugged.

See also...

Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.