INGV reported that eruptive activity continued at Stromboli during 12-18 August. Webcam images showed Strombolian activity at three vents in Area N within the upper part of the Sciara del Fuoco, and from one vent at S2 in Area C-S (South-Central Crater) on the crater terrace. The variable-intensity explosive activity ejected coarse material (bombs and lapilli) at a low rate. Spattering occurred at the southernmost vent in Area N. Coincident with a peak in spattering activity at Area N at 1845 on 15 August lava began to overflow the crater and rapidly descended the Sciara del Fuoco. The lava flow was active for about three hours and followed a drainage formed during activity in July, reaching around 450 m elevation. The flow was no longer active at 2210 and began to cool.

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)