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Report on Stromboli (Italy) — 14 March-20 March 2007


Stromboli

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 14 March-20 March 2007
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2007. Report on Stromboli (Italy) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 14 March-20 March 2007. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (14 March-20 March 2007)

Stromboli

Italy

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

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


INGV-CT reported that the eruption at Stromboli that started on 27 February continued during 15 March. On 9 March, the vent at 400 m elevation that fed the lava flows closed and another vent opened on the N flank of the NE Crater at 550 m elevation. It remained active for less than 24 hours. After it closed, the 400-m vent re-opened and lava again flowed to the sea. On 15 March, a major explosion occurred during an effusive flank eruption.

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)