Mount Etna Is Erupting Right Now And It's Putting On A Spectacular Show

Mount Etna is gifting the world with a new eruption, and as is par for the course for this decidedly strange mountain of fantastic fiery fountains, it’s putting on a breathtaking show. The photographs, taken by Boris Behncke, a volcanologist at the Etna Observatory (and someone who lives in the shadow of this Sicilian stratovolcano), speak for themselves. Footage obtained by several news networks, including ABC News, is proving to be equally resplendent stuff.
Here’s a quick rundown of what’s going on at Etna right now, and how it fits with the recent history of the volcano.
So, what’s happening?
As Italy’s National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) explains on a recent blog post, the nascent eruption began on the night of May 29. Starting off by producing a thick column of ash rising from the New Southeast Crater, it gave way on May 30 to a far more lava-heavy display in the area, featuring two fissures blenching out lava.
The use of the word “belching” is probably more scientifically pertinent than you think. In somewhat crude terms, this sort of eruption involves a collection of gas escaping from the magma within the volcano’s conduit, a roughly vertical pipe that’s a bit like a volcano’s oesophagus. If it can’t quickly bubble out of the magma and sneak into the atmosphere, perhaps because the magma is a little more gloopy than it otherwise could be, this gas tends to gather together and form a large slug-like gassy mass. When this slug reaches the top of the conduit, it bursts forth from the volcano’s vent or fissure (one of several, in this case), sending blobs and flecks of lava skywards with it.
See? This eruption style is the volcanic equivalent of a burp, perhaps with a little bit of, um, extra stomach material being brought along for the ride. This is technically known as a Strombolian eruption style, named after Stromboli, another beautiful and reliably hyperactive Italian volcano found within the volcanic Aeolian Islands, which are all just north of Etna itself.

Sometimes this style can create fountains of lava tens of even hundreds of metres high; in this case, the volcanic burps appear to be a little minor but frequent, causing hyperactive spattering landing on the volcano’s slopes and onto a couple of lava flows.
As the blog post notes, as of the morning of May 31, a northern lava flow stretched out toward the Valle del Bove, a rather sizeable horseshoe-shaped pit on Etna’s eastern flanks. As it did so, the lava turned eastwards, and managed to stretch out at a distance of around 2,000 metres (nearly 6,600 feet). The second lava flow is more southerly; it’s sneaking along the inside of the Valle del Bove’s western wall. As of May 31, it’s about 3,000 metres (9,850 feet) long.
Interestingly, this southern flow is being fed from a crack right near the fissures that produced another substantial lava-rich eruption last December. Those fissures are pretty much brand-new: they emerged on Christmas Eve after 130 tremors at the volcano back then seemed to suggest magma was making its way to the surface.

Although Etna has been active for some time, this eruption was significant as it was the first flank (side) eruption, not summit eruption, at Etna for more than a decade. According to the Smithsonian Institution’s Global Volcanism Program, this paroxysm was part of a prolonged volcanic sequence that began all the way back in September 2013.
Already bored with those December 2018 lava flows, this new river of lava is already partly burying them.

Where on Etna is this eruption taking place?
Although it varies from eruption to eruption, summit eruptions tend to be a little less dangerous to people who live on Etna’s considerably massive slopes than flank eruptions. If you have a prolific lava flow, one at the summit is less likely to make it far downslope, whereas a flank eruption stands a better chance. An explosion flank eruption, which could cause a cascade of lava outpourings, landslides and perhaps even pyroclastic flows, is a real risk, so anytime there’s signs of a flank eruption those at the INGV can, rather understandably, get a little anxious.

As Behncke points out in a recent tweet, this eruption is “sub-terminal.” This means that although it’s not taking place at the summit craters themselves, it’s pretty close to them, around 3,000 metres (9,850 feet) elevation. It’s only another 350 metres (1,150 feet) or so to the top.

Is this normal for Etna?
Definitely. Although a little unpredictable, Etna has been erupting in some form or another for years now. Back just this February, for example, ash clouds were seen rising skyward from a series of small blasts from the so-called Roof of the Mediterranean.

Here, you can see some minor ash emissions from Etna’s Northeast Crater on February 19, 2019. (Marco Restivo/Barcroft Images/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

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So there’s nothing to worry about then?
Right. All indications are, then, that this eruption poses no threat to any of the million or so people that call Etna’s flanks home. If you’re planning to visit Sicily in the near future, then worry not, you’re perfectly safe from Etna’s fireworks show.
Saying that, Etna certainly has and will again someday pose a threat: thanks to its strange and enigmatic magmatic plumbing system, this volcano can engage in a myriad of eruption styles, from quick-moving lava cascades to sudden, explosive magma-water blasts, some of which can be somewhat difficult to foresee.
On top of all that, it’s (very, very slowly) sliding into the Ionian Sea, which could one day lead to a major flank collapse. This could not only trigger a violent eruption but also a megatsunami that could find its way across to the eastern Mediterranean and devastate its shores. Don’t panic, though – there’s zero evidence that this, or any sort of major eruption, is “imminent” or “due” in any sense of the word.
It’s good to know then that researchers from all over the world, including the INGV, are keeping a very close eye on it. If something wicked is afoot with this tricksy volcano, don’t worry, they’ll be the first to let everyone know.

I want to know more about Etna’s volcanic past!
Well that’s lucky, because I’ve got you covered: scroll down to the appropriate section on this article about the December 2018 flank eruption.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2019/05/31/mount-etna-is-erupting-right-now-and-its-putting-on-a-spectacular-show/amp/?fbclid=IwAR0VhF8NMZyznj7lVqJeP1qTXy0QWEu6zfWsz_XuiKNAoUKjjhkM8Y4zJzQ