8
The Signature
What Do You Know About Etna’s Eruptions? By Dr. Alberto Lunetta, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs
oasting a huge surface of 1,200 square kilometers, B the 10,918-foot-high Etna is the largest and tallest volcano in Europe, as well as one of the most active
So, what is the real story behind Etna’s eruptions, and how does the volcano typically behave? Etna produces two extremely different types of volcanoes on Earth. Around 900,000 residents live on eruptions: summit eruptions and flank eruptions. the slopes or in the vicinity of Etna. Summit eruptions take place in the four craters of the Every time the glow of Mt. Etna’s orange halo appears, volcano (the North East Crater, the Voragine, the Bocca people get excited, scared, curious, or are simply Nuova, and the South-East Crater) and can go on for awed by the spectacle. Traditional media outlets often months or even years with spectacular lava fountaining sensationalize the volcanic events by using dramatic and effusive activity which produce abundant ash fallouts. pictures of giant lava explosions and label every pyroclastic This type of volcanic activity, called “Strombolian,” blast as a “new eruption,” even though Etna’s eruptions does not typically pose any danger to local towns except tend to last for months, if not years. Additionally, local for the ash that can cause traffic hazards, damage to volcanologists will often get pressed for predictions about infrastructure and utilities, and acute health effects in the future eruptions, which are impossible to accurately exposed population. Air traffic can also be disrupted by state. closures of the Catania and local airports. To combat hearsay, local experts try their best to explain “As of mid-January 2021, Etna has been erupting for to the media what’s really happening to dispel the rumors, more than 15 months almost without interruption,” said but their statements are sometimes misinterpreted. Dr. Boris Behncke, a research scientist at the Catania office of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) which monitors Etna 24/7 with 170 stations scattered around the Catania provincial area, keeping an eye on eruptions’ early warnings. “Since early December 2020, the activity has intensified, with several episodes of lava fountaining and lava flow emission from the Southeast Crater (the most active of the four summit craters), and renewed lava emission on the morning of 17 January. Intermittent explosive activity, sometimes accompanied by small lava flows, is also occurring at the Voragine Etna is one of the most active and studied volcanos in the world whose documented history dates back to 475 BC. It was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2013 for the importance of its geological and scientific features. The (“big mouth”) crater, and volcano produces breathtaking long-lasting and near-continuous eruptions, which are mainly restricted to the summit sporadic explosions are craters and do not pose threat to the local communities. However, over the centuries, flank eruptions threatened and/or taking place at the other inundated surrounding inhabited areas destroying properties, houses and infrastructures. Etna is constantly monitored two summit craters, the by Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology. (PHOTO BY ALESSANDRO LO PICCOLO) "Italian News" cont’d on Page 11
