Paroxysm (nr 24) at the New SE Crater on 12 April

The lava fountains from several vents on the eruptive fissure during the peak of the eruption (photo: Marco Restivo, www.etnawalk.it)

Zoom onto the liquid lava fountain (photo: Marco Restivo, www.etnawalk.it)

The oblique lava fountain directed towards Valle del Bove from the lower eastern vent on the eruptive fissure (photo: Marco Restivo, www.etnawalk.it)
Strombolian activity had started on the evening of 10 April, and intensified during the night 11-12 April and on the morning of 12 April, with explosions from the summit vent of the cone becoming more and more energetic and regular.
At 14:17 local time, a vent was reactivated on a segment further upslope on the eruptive fissure on the southeast side of the NSEC and began issuing a slow lava flow.
Ten minutes later, the same vent initiated weak spattering. Almost simultaneously the strombolian activity, which had remained fairly stable during the previous hour, began to gradually increase. During this phase, the formation of at least 3 gas rings were observed, which rose several hundred meters above the crater and then dissipated.
At about 15:15 the first weak and intermittent lava fountains started from the summit vent of the cone. The activity of spattering from the eruptive fissure had gradually intensified producing real strombolian explosions that, around 16:00, became very intense, throwing volcanic bombs size of meter size until the base of the cone.
At around 16:10 another lava flow was observed to be erupted from the gap formed after the collapse of the northeastern portion of the cinder cone on 1 April, but it was not possible to assess whether it was produced by the reactivation of the fissure opened during that activity, or whether it was generated by an overflow due to an increase in lava discharge rate from the other vents.
Between 16:20 and 16:30 the activity suddenly intensitied and formed sustained lava fountains, first from the summit vent, then later from several other vents aligned along the eruptive fissure on the southeastern flank. The largest of these lava fountains produced spectacular sprays directed towards the Valle del Bove.
The fountaining generated a column of gas and tephra that has rose a few km above the volcano and was then bent by the winds to the east.
The activity remained almost constant for about half an hour, when, at around 17:00, the vent at the top of the cone stopped fountaining and started to produce impressive ash emissions. The activity decreased sharply around 17:15. During this phase, the lava flows travelling into the Valle del Bove in contact with snow generated huge lahars that produced large clouds of steam that rose some hundreds of feet above the valley floor.
The ash emission stopped at around 17h40 and all activity stopped a few tens of minutes later. The most advanced lava flow fronts reached at 1950 meters above sea level in the Valle del Bove.
A second lava flow was erupted from the fissure on the north side of the cone, and reached some 100 m length.
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(Source: EtnaWalk)
Eruption ends
Update Thu 12 Apr 17:44

Tremor signal has dropped back down

Last ash emissions from the NSEC
Update Thu 12 Apr 17:29

Last ash emissions from the NSEC
Eruption declining
Update Thu 12 Apr 17:18

Tall eruption column seen from Catania
Update Thu 12 Apr 17:15

Tremor signal at 189

Dense steam and ash clouds generated by the descending lava flow
Update Thu 12 Apr 17:09

Lava flow into Valle del Bove generating small pyroclastic flow
The lava flow descending into Valle del Bove meets snow layers, and occasionally, the violent mixing generates small pyroclastic flows such as this one captured on Etna Trekking's Schiena dell'Asino webcam.
Lava fountains
Update Thu 12 Apr 16:59

Lava fountains from NSEC
Update Thu 12 Apr 16:50

Multiple lava fountains

The lava flow descending into Valle del Bove
The eruption at its peak
Update Thu 12 Apr 16:44




Tremor at 160
Update Thu 12 Apr 16:39

Tremor around 100

Tall lava fountains from several vents of the NSEC
Update Thu 12 Apr 16:36

View from Montagnola

From Schiena dell'Asino

Tall eruption column seen from Catania
Update Thu 12 Apr 16:31

Lava fountains from the summit crater of the NSEC

The view from Schiena dell'Asino
Update Thu 12 Apr 16:28

The eruption column starting to rise (Etna Trekking webcam from Schiena dell'Asino)
Update Thu 12 Apr 16:12

Webcam image
Update Thu 12 Apr 15:47
You can watch the activity live at webcams.volcanodiscovery.com/Etna!Update Thu 12 Apr 15:38

Rising tremor signal

Thermal image (INGV)
Update Thu 12 Apr 15:14

Volcanic tremor now at 22

Ever more powerful explosions and the advancing flow
lava flow has started
Update Thu 12 Apr 14:54

Volcanic tremor now at 20

Lava flow emerging from the fissure of the NSEC
Update Thu 12 Apr 14:09

Rising tremor signal (INGV)

Strombolian activity from NSEC
Update Thu 12 Apr 13:03

Rising tremor signal (INGV)

Thermal image (INGV)
New paroxysm under way?
Update Thu 12 Apr 10:35

Rising tremor signal (INGV)

Strombolian activity from NSEC
A short time ago, the tremor signal again started to rise sharply, possibly announcing the next paroxysm to occur within the next hours, unless it is another "failed attempt" such as yesterday...
Update Wed 11 Apr 15:26

Update Wed 11 Apr 11:27

Rising tremor signal (INGV)
Update Wed 11 Apr 09:24

Strombolian activity from NSEC (Radiostudio 7.it)

Tremor signal as of 11 April (INGV)
Update Fri 06 Apr 17:19
