The eruptive activity of Etna continues with the emission of grayish brown ash from the North-East crater, which forms a plume directed towards the South-East. However these emissions are not associated with Strombolian activity or lava fountaining detectable with visual and thermal observation systems. The pyroclastic material is transported by the wind in an easterly direction, on the Ionian coast.
At the moment the occurrence rate and magnitude of earthquake swarm events on the north-eastern slope of Etna is decreasing sharply. This swarm is placed in a dynamic framework characterized by a significant deflation of the volcano following the subtraction of a significant quantity of magma, and is to be considered a response of the tectonic structures in the eastern flank of the volcanic edifice.
