INGV reported that eruptive activity continued at Stromboli during 14-20 August. Webcam images showed Strombolian activity at the summit craters in Area North (Area N) and Area Central-South (Area CS). Explosions at vents N1 and N2 in Area N were variable in intensity and ejected coarse material (bombs and lapilli) and ash. Intense spattering occurred at N1 during 17-18 August. Explosive activity in Area CS was concentrated at three vents in Sector S2. The explosions ejected bombs and lapilli, though spattering was observed during 17-18 August. Gas emissions rose from the S1 vent and the central (C) vent. The Dipartimento della Protezione Civile maintained the Alert Level at Yellow (the second highest level on a four-level scale).

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.

Sources: Sezione di Catania - Osservatorio Etneo (INGV), Dipartimento della Protezione Civile