Report on Stromboli (Italy) — 5 September-11 September 2018
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 5 September-11 September 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, 5 September-11 September 2018. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.
Stromboli
Italy
38.789°N, 15.213°E; summit elev. 924 m
All times are local (unless otherwise noted)
INGV reported that during 3-9 September activity at Stromboli was characterized by ongoing Strombolian activity and degassing from multiple vents within the crater terrace. Explosions mainly from two vents (N1 and N2) in Area N (north crater area, NCA) and three vents (C, S1, and S2) in Area C-S (South Central crater area) occurred at a rate of 2-15 per hour. Low-to-medium-intensity explosions from the N1 vent ejected lapilli and bombs mixed with ash as high as 120 m. Explosions of variable intensity at the N2 vent ejected tephra 150 m high. Vent C produced gas emissions, and periodic low-intensity explosions ejected tephra 80 m high. Incandescent material from S1 jetted 120 m above the crater. Low-intensity explosions at S2 ejected tephra less than 80 m high.
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.