4 centimeters in 8 days: this is the shift of the south-eastern flank of Etna towards the sea (to the east). With these data, collected in May 2017, a research group of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Ingv Catania section) in collaboration with German organizations, hypothesized a possible "collapse" of the volcano in the sea. Very worrying, even if it can be future
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him
4 centimeters in 8 days: this is the shift of the south-eastern flank of Etna towards the sea (to the east). With these data, collected in May 2017, a research group of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (Ingv Catania section) in collaboration with German organizations, hypothesized a possible "collapse" of the volcano in the sea. Very worrying, even if it can be future.
Scientists have known for decades that the southeastern slopes of Etna, a famous active volcano on the eastern coast of Sicily, are moving towards the sea by about 2 or 3 centimeters per year. But in the new Ingv study there was a much larger shift than ever recorded: 4 centimeters over an 8-day period in May 2017.
While nothing has occurred for most of the 15 months under observation, this sudden and incredible shift in the southeastern flank suggests that the volcano is collapsing under its own weight. And it's not just a risk to the area's beautiful landscape.
"This is bad news for human life - explains Morelia Urlaub, co-author of the study - We know that other volcanoes in the geological records have collapsed catastrophically and have caused really large, very fast landslides, and that if these landslides penetrate the sea, they can cause a tsunami ”.
"The possibility of this happening to Etna cannot yet be quantified - however, the researcher specified - The scientific observations on the mountain date back to a few decades ago and the entire history of Etna extends for 500.000 years".
What to do then? For now we can and should only monitor more frequently and carefully, in order to detect if there are any changes in the way the slope moves and estimate the risk of collapse of the volcano.
Photo: Morelia Urlaub/Felix Gross via Science Alert
Don't panic for now, then, but eyes open.
To bring us back with our feet on the ground, dampening the possible alarmism, is the director of the INGV- Etneo Observatory of Catania, Eugenio Privitera, who explains to us:
“The INGV has not issued any alerts and we are not talking about anything new. It has been known since the 80s that the eastern flank of Etna is sliding towards the Ionian Sea and over the years more and more stringent evidence has been gathered that now make this character of our volcano one of its fundamental peculiarities. In the meantime, a scientific debate has also ignited on the cause of this sliding, that is: does it slip under the pressure of magma? Or should it be considered as a mega-landslide driven by gravity? finally, can it be a combination of the two? The article we are talking about only adds a contribution to this scientific debate. It is an important contribution because it gives information on the submerged part of the volcano, not available until now. As the authors themselves say, these measurements must be repeated, both to validate them and to better understand their meaning.
From the point of view of the danger of Etna, a so-called "slope collapse" cannot be excluded a priori, so much so that the National Department of Civil Protection considers it among the possible scenarios. Probably the worst. The fact that it can happen does not mean that it will happen and if it will happen we do not know when. When it is stated that the probability is not quantifiable and because this is so low that, in fact, it cannot be quantified, but it exists. Obviously, a slope collapse that causes an enormous rock mass to enter the sea inevitably generates a Tsunami. These are the facts, nothing has changed compared to yesterday ".
The work was published in Science Advances.
Read also:
- Rare phenomenon on Etna, new eruption: 7 hikers injured (VIDEO)
- Etna gives a show: new beautiful eruption (PHOTO AND VIDEO)
Roberta de carolis
