INGV reported that during 18-24 January activity at Stromboli was characterized by ongoing explosive activity from Area N (North Crater area) and in Area C-S (South-Central Crater area). Explosions from the N1 vent (Area N) ejected lapilli and bombs 80-150 m high, and produced minor ash emissions. Explosions at four N2 vents (Area N) ejected coarse material as high as 250 m. Periods of continuous and sometimes intense spattering was also visible. Explosions from at least two vents in Area C-S occurred at a rate of 10-18 events per hour; one vent ejected coarse material 250 m high and the other produced ash emissions.

Lava emerged from the P1 and P2 vents in Area N four times, on 18, 22, and 24 January, and flowed onto the upper Sciara del Fuoco. On 18 January incandescent blocks from activity at the P1 vent rolled a few tens of meters down the upper parts of the Sciara del Fuoco. Later that same day blocks from the P2 vent traveled as far as the central part of the Sciara del Fuoco. Lava from P2 traveled down the Sciara del Fuoco on 22 January and accumulated at the coastline. A fourth lava overflow occurred on 24 January from P2, but had less volume than the third.

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)