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Report on Stromboli (Italy) — 28 June-4 July 2023


Stromboli

Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 28 June-4 July 2023
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert. Written by JoAnna G. Marlow.

Please cite this report as:

Global Volcanism Program, 2023. Report on Stromboli (Italy) (Marlow, J G, and Sennert, S, eds.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 28 June-4 July 2023. Smithsonian Institution and US Geological Survey.

Weekly Report (28 June-4 July 2023)

Stromboli

Italy

38.789°N, 15.213°E; summit elev. 924 m

All times are local (unless otherwise noted)


INGV reported that eruptive activity continued at Stromboli during 26 June-2 July. Strombolian activity was observed at summit craters, Area North (Area N) and Area Central-South (Area CS), within the crater terrace, in webcam images. Explosive activity was mainly observed at Area CS (one vent in Sector S1 and three vents in Sector S2). High-pressure degassing sometimes accompanied by the ejection of coarse material was observed at sector S1. An average of 7-9 explosions per hour ejected bombs and lapilli mixed with ash at sector S2. At two vents (one in sector N1 and one in N2) in Area N, an average of 3-5 explosions per hour ejected a mixture of coarse and fine material up to 80 m above the vents. Unstable material detached from an area at the base of crater Area N and triggered moderate landslides that descended the Sciara del Fuoco. The Dipartimento della Protezione Civile maintained the Alert Level at Yellow (the second lowest level on a four-level scale).

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)