INGV reported ongoing Strombolian activity at Stromboli during 8-14 May. Activity was centered at two vents (one each at craters N1 and N2) in Area N, within the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco, and from three vents in the Area C-S (South-Central Crater area) in the crater terrace area. Explosions at the N1 and N2 craters in Area N were low intensity and ejected coarse material (bombs and lapilli), sometimes mixed with ash at N1, as high as 80 m at a rate of 4-9 explosions per hour. Medium- to high-intensity explosions at the two vents in sector S2 (Area C-S) ejected ash sometimes mixed with coarse material at an average rate of 5-8 explosions per hour. Low-intensity gas explosions occurred at S1 in Area C-S. No significant activity was identified in Sector C in Area C-S.

Geological Summary. Spectacular incandescent nighttime explosions at Stromboli have long attracted visitors to the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean" in the NE Aeolian Islands. This volcano has lent its name to the frequent mild explosive activity that has characterized its eruptions throughout much of historical time. The small 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 took place between about 13,000 and 5,000 years ago. The active summit vents are located at the head of the Sciara del Fuoco, a prominent scarp that formed about 5,000 years ago due to a series of slope failures which extends 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.

Source: Sezione di Catania - Osservatorio Etneo (INGV)