INGV reported that during 26 September-2 October activity at Stromboli was characterized by ongoing explosions from three vents in Area N (North Crater area) and at least two vents in Area C-S (South-Central Crater area). Low-intensity explosions from the N1 vent (Area N) ejected course material (bombs and lapilli) 80-150 m high at a rate of 3-5 explosions per hour. Spattering was visible at the N2 vent (Area N). Explosions from at least two vents in Area C-S, which were not visible due to the camera views, ejected ash and course material less than 150 m above the vent at a rate of 1-5 events per hour.

At 1524 on 29 September an explosion at N2 generated an ash plume that rose 300 m above the summit and ejected abundant amounts of lava fragments, lapilli, and bombs along the Sciara del Fuoco. Four subsequent, low-intensity explosions ejected tephra 100 m high. Spattering activity at the vent intensified afterwards and through the next day. Beginning at 1115 on 3 October a lava flow emerged from Area N and traveled down the Sciara del Fuoco, reaching the ocean.

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)