INGV reported ongoing activity at Stromboli during 22-28 May. The Strombolian activity was centered at two vents in Area N (one each at craters N1 and N2), within the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco, and from four vents in Area C-S (South-Central Crater) in the crater terrace. Low-intensity explosions at a rate of 3-7 per hour from Area N ejected mainly coarse material (bombs and lapilli) from N2, with mainly ash emissions from N1 as high as 80 m above the vents. Low- to medium-intensity explosions at an average rate of 2-7 per hour from the two vents in sector S2 (Area C-S) ejected a mix of coarse material and ash. During 27-28 May intense gas emissions at S1 sometimes contained coarse material. Intense spattering and occasionally weak explosions of coarse material was observed in sector C (Area C-S).

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)