Since the cessation of the last eruption of Mount Etna on 28 January 2003, no further eruptive activity has been observed. Summit activity has been limited to pulsating gas emissions from the Northeast Crater (NEC) and from one of the two vents within Bocca Nuova (BN). The other central crater vents and the Southeast Crater (SEC) were essentially blocked and only producing extremely weak gas emissions.

The first significant variation from this very low level of activity was seen between 12 and 14 February 2004, when a weak ash emission was observed within the summit crater plume. A fresh ash sample was collected in Pedara, a village about 10 km SE from the summit. Del Carlo and Andronico (2004) reported that the sample was made up of material with a grain-size less than 0.125 mm. Components comprising the sample consisted of sideromelane (41.5%), tachylite (24.7%), loose crystals of clinopyroxene, olivine, and plagioclase (4%), and lithics (29.7%). The clasts of sideromelane were very vesiculated and made of light-brown, transparent and shiny glass. There were also a few strands of Pele's hair. Tachylites were black or gray, shiny, sub-angular clasts. Lithics comprised fragments of weathered scoria, lavas, or secondary minerals. The high amount of juvenile components within the ash were taken to suggests an uprise of magma into the summit feeder conduit, the first to occur since the end of the 2002-2003 flank eruption.

The INGV-CT Geochemistry group performed regular remote-sensing measurements of volcanic gas flux and chemical composition on Etna using COSPEC and FTIR instruments. Such measurements demonstrated that the upper conduit system of Mt Etna has been weakly supplied with magma since the end of the 2002-2003 eruption, an observation supported both by relatively low fluxes of SO₂ and low molar ratios of SO₂/HCl. Occasional discrete injections of magma into the upper conduit system have been observed, however, as sharp increases in both SO₂ flux and SO₂/HCl ratios. These inputs occurred in August 2003, December 2003, and in late January 2004.

The INGV-CT permanent seismic network consisted of ~ 40 stations, 10 of which were installed in October 2003 and have broad-band, 40-second-period sensors. After the end of the 2002-2003 flank eruption, seismicity was mainly concentrated along Etna's E and NE flanks, appearing in two main phases. Until the end of May 2003, earthquakes were localized along the same structures that were activated during the 2002-2003 eruption, suggesting a relaxation phase. During this phase, several swarms occurred mainly between 3 and 7 km depth, showing a progressive decrease in seismic energy. After June 2003, several shallow earthquakes were recorded along the upper eastern part of the volcanic edifice near Zafferana, and along the Pernicana fault on the NE flank. This second phase was characterized by a renewal of seismic activity, with several seismic swarms characterized by progressive release of seismic energy. In particular, during the last two months, the Pernicana Fault has been very active (UFS Weekly Reports, 2003 and 2004).

References. Del Carlo, P., and Andronico, D., 2004, Rapporto cenere Etna del 13-14/02/04: INGV-CT Internal Report, Prot. Int. no. UFVG2004/024, p 1. UFS INGV-CT Weekly Internal Reports, 2003 and 2004.

Geological Summary. Mount Etna, towering above Catania on the island of Sicily, has one of the world's longest documented records of volcanism, dating back to 1500 BCE. Historical lava flows of basaltic composition cover much of the surface of this massive volcano, whose edifice is the highest and most voluminous in Italy. The Mongibello stratovolcano, truncated by several small calderas, was constructed during the late Pleistocene and Holocene over an older shield volcano. The most prominent morphological feature of Etna is the Valle del Bove, a 5 x 10 km caldera open to the east. Two styles of eruptive activity typically occur, sometimes simultaneously. Persistent explosive eruptions, sometimes with minor lava emissions, take place from one or more summit craters. Flank vents, typically with higher effusion rates, are less frequently active and originate from fissures that open progressively downward from near the summit (usually accompanied by Strombolian eruptions at the upper end). Cinder cones are commonly constructed over the vents of lower-flank lava flows. Lava flows extend to the foot of the volcano on all sides and have reached the sea over a broad area on the SE flank.

Information Contacts: Sonia Calvari, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Piazza Roma 2, 95123 Catania, Italy (URL: http://www.ct.ingv.it/).