Stromboli returns to show. The Aeolian volcano gave rise to a series of explosions from the mouths located on the crater terrace
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himStromboli returns to show. The Aeolian volcano on 18 March gave rise to a series of explosions from the mouths located on the crater terrace.
The first took place at 19:27 pm from the mouths of the central-southern area, during which Stromboli emitted abundant ash mixed with incandescent material and large lava blocks, which fell both in the summit area and along the Sciara del Fuoco.
A spectacular phenomenon given that the products issued have passed a'height of 350 m above the crater terrace, as evidenced by the video surveillance cameras of the Etneo Observatory of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology.
Approximately 40 seconds after the first explosion, the second took place, this time from the mouths of the north crater area, albeit of lesser intensity. In this case, ash and coarser material (lapilli and bombs) were emitted which reached a height of about 100 m above the vent.
Photo: Francesca Mancuso
“In both explosions, an ash cloud was generated which rapidly dispersed into the eastern quadrants of the volcano. The duration of the sequence was approximately 40 seconds in total ”explains Ingv.
Stromboli you never make us bored. Other violent explosions, similar to the one that occurred two days ago, occurred on March 7th but also in 2017, on July 26th, October 23rd, November 1st, December 1st.
Photo: Francesca Mancuso
What is special about them? These explosions are more violent of those typical of ordinary Strombolian activity, during which coarse material and ash is emitted, which falls almost exclusively in the summit area.
“These occasional and unpredictable events abruptly interrupt ordinary Strombolian activity. However, they are part of the volcanic phenomenology typical of the summit activity of Stromboli characterized by explosions of variable energy ”continues Ingv.
For over a thousand years Stromboli has been erupting continuously, producing a truly characteristic type of activity, in which intermittent explosions follow one another, with intervals ranging from tens of seconds to a few minutes. They occur from craters located at about 750 meters above sea level near the top of the volcano.
Even if they are not high-energy explosions, the latter is enough to push the incandescent magma into the area for hundreds of meters: it is the so-called Strombolian activity, known all over the world for its distinctive features. The trademark that made the volcano known.
However, it happens, in a completely unpredictable way, that Stromboli produces explosions of even greater magnitude , characterized by greater energy and frequency. They sometimes cause the fallout of volcanic bombs, lapilli and rock fragments, even quite large, in the top portion of the volcano.
It's paroxysmal rashes, that is the violent and sudden ones, which often erupt a magma considered "primitive" and deep, which rises so rapidly towards the surface that it does not have time to partially crystallize and fractionate. Their impact on the territory is potentially very dangerous, because as the Ingv explains, the erupted materials can trigger fires in the vegetation and reach inhabited centers.
Fortunately, they don't happen often. The last one took place on March 15, 2007, even earlier it happened in 2003.
READ also:
- 10 extraordinary volcanoes from around the world (PHOTO)
Francesca Mancuso
Cover photo (by reportorio)
