Report on Stromboli (Italy) — 29 May-4 June 2024
Smithsonian Institution / US Geological Survey
Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 29 May-4 June 2024
Managing Editor: Sally Sennert.
Please cite this report as:
Global Volcanism Program, 2024. Report on Stromboli (Italy) (Sennert, S, ed.). Weekly Volcanic Activity Report, 29 May-4 June 2024. 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 eruptive activity continued at Stromboli during 27 May-2 June. Webcam images showed Strombolian activity at two vents in Area N (one at N1 and one at N2), within the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco, and from two vents at S2 in Area C-S (South-Central Crater) on the crater terrace. Intense spattering at a hornito in N1 on 27 May was followed by a short lava flow that descended a few hundred meters in the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco; a partial collapse of the hornito occurred the day before. During the week low- to medium-intensity explosive activity at N1 and N2 ejected coarse material (bombs and lapilli) less than 150 m above the vents. The average rate of explosions from this area was 11-15 events per hour. Spattering at N1 was almost continuous and intense at times. At Area C-S, explosive activity at two vents in sector S2 ejected both coarse and fine material as high as 150 m above the vent. The average explosion rate was 1-6 events per hour.
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.