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Report on Stromboli (Italy) — 25 April-1 May 2018


Stromboli

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 25 April-1 May 2018
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2018. Report on Stromboli (Italy) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 25 April-1 May 2018. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (25 April-1 May 2018)

Stromboli

Italy

38.789°N, 15.213°E; summit elev. 924 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


INGV reported that on 24 April an intense explosive sequence occurred at vents on Stromboli’s south-central crater terrace area. The first explosion, recorded at 1105, ejected an abundant amount of ash, incandescent material, and large blocks to a height of 250 m that fell onto the summit area and along the Sciara del Fuoco. An explosive event at 1106 was characterized by modest lava fountaining. The last event, recorded at 1110, ejected pyroclastic material, though it was less intense than the first. An ash plume from the sequence quickly dispersed SE.

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)