INGV reported that during 23-29 December activity at Stromboli was characterized by ongoing explosive activity mainly from three vents in Area N (north crater area) and at least three vents in Area C-S (south central crater area). On 27 December lava began effusing from a vent in Area C-S and traveled a few hundred meters in the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco. Variable-intensity explosions from Area N occurred at a rate of 3-17 events per hour and ejected lapilli and bombs 80m to at least 150 m above the vents. Ejected tephra fell onto the flanks and some blocks rolled a few hundred meters along the Sciara del Fuoco. Spattering occurred from vents in the S part of Area N. Medium- to- high-intensity explosions from Area C-S occurred at a rate of 6-12 events per hour and ejected coarse material to heights sometimes greater than 150 m above the vents. Material was deposited along the upper parts of the Sciara del Fuoco.

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)