Yesterday evening, 18 March, a violent explosive sequence occurred which involved the vents located on the crater terrace of the Stromboli volcano. A first explosion, which took place at 19:27 local time from the mouths of the central-southern area, emitted abundant ash mixed with incandescent material and large lava blocks which fell on the summit area and along the Sciara del Fuoco. The emitted products exceeded a height of 350 m above the crater terrace, as evidenced by the video surveillance cameras of the Etna Observatory of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV-OE). About 40 seconds after the first, a second explosion occurred from the vents located in the north crater area, but of less intensity. In this case ash and coarser material (lapilli and bombs) were emitted which reached a height of about 100 m above the vent. In both explosions an ash cloud was generated which rapidly dispersed in the eastern quadrants of the volcano. The duration of the sequence was about 40 seconds overall. Violent explosive sequences, like the one described, have also occurred recently: last March 7 and July 26, October 23, November 1, December 1, 2017. These are more violent explosions than those of ordinary Strombolian activity, during which is emitted coarse material and ash, which falls in the summit area. These occasional and unpredictable events abruptly interrupt ordinary Strombolian activity. However, they are part of the volcanic phenomenology typical of Stromboli's summit activity characterized by explosions of variable energy. Stromboli's activity is continuously monitored by INGV through its Sections in Catania, Naples and Palermo.
Click here for the in-depth article
Figures: frame of the explosion of 18 March 2018, extracted from the INGV visible camera at an altitude of 400m
Explosive sequence of 18 March 2018: taken by the video surveillance cameras (visible and thermal) of the INGV-Osservatorio Etneo located at an altitude of 400 m asl. It can be observed that the launch of the pyroclastic material has exceeded the frame of the camera.