Summary of all Mount Etna eruptions that took place on May 2021. Etna gives a show with nights of intense volcanic activity, alternating Strombolian activity and lava fountains with small emissions of lava flows. Several paroxysms, of spectacular magnitude, have affected the South-East crater from which a lava flow has also emerged. The new eruptive phase of Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe, was of particular beauty, setting the nights on fire with magnificent lava fountains, a phenomenon visible from several kilometers away.
Mount Etna eruptions May 2021
Mount Etna, fiery nights
These new eruptions are constantly monitored by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania. The various paroxysmal phases, which began with Strombolian activity (explosions and the emission of shreds of lava and ash) began from the South-East crater.
Strombolian Eruption
Strombolian eruptions are named from the small volcano-island of Stromboli, located between Sicily and Italy. This volcano has been erupting almost constantly for hundreds of years. It erupts irregularly every twenty minutes or so to produce an episodic lightshow that gives rise to its nickname, the “Lighthouse of the Mediterranean“
The amplitude of the values of the volcanic tremor, which detects the energy in the internal magma conduits, have meant that spectacular lava fountains have affected the area adjacent to the crater with launches of incandescent magma about 500-600 meters above the rim of the crater; and with an overflow of lava along the South-East flank, which descends to the summit area in the South-West direction.
These eruptive phenomena were also followed by the emission of ash that fell in neighboring cities and over the sea. The energy released by the highest active volcano in Europe was of particular beauty in the nights of May with spectacular eruptions visible from great distances. In many towns, the new cleaning and collection of volcanic ash has already begun.
The eruptive activity of Etna did not impact the operations of the Vincenzo Bellini international airport in Catania.
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