Report on Stromboli (Italy) — 21 April-27 April 2021
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 21 April-27 April 2021
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2021. Report on Stromboli (Italy) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 21 April-27 April 2021. 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 19-25 April activity at Stromboli was characterized by ongoing explosive activity from Area N (North Crater area) and in Area C-S (South-Central Crater area), though sometime weather conditions prevented visual observations. Explosions from two vents in the N1 vent (Area N) ejected lapilli and bombs 250 m high, and produced minor ash emissions. Explosions at N2 vents (Area N) averaged 11-14 events per hour. Periods of visible spattering were most notable on 24 April. Explosions from at least three vents in Area C-S occurred at a rate of 1-5 events per hour and ejected coarse material more than 250 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.