Publication Date:
2017-04-04
Description:
Abstract After 16 months of quiescence, Mount Etna began to erupt again in mid-July 2006. The activity was
concentrated at and around the Southeast Crater (SEC), one of the four craters on the summit of Etna, and eruptive
activity continued intermittently for 5 months. During this period, numerous vents displayed a wide range of eruptive
styles at different times. Virtually all explosive activities took place at vents at the summit of the SEC and on its
flanks. Eruptive episodes, which lasted from 1 day to 2 weeks, became shorter and more violent with time.
Volcanic activity at these vents was often accompanied by dramatic mass-wasting processes such as collapse of parts
of the cone, highly unusual flowage processes involving both old rocks and fresh magmatic material, and magma–
water interaction. The most dramatic events took place on 16 November, when numerous rockfalls and pyroclastic
density currents (PDCs) were generated during the opening of a large fracture on the SE flank of the SEC cone. The
largest PDCs were clearly triggered explosively, and there is evidence that much of the energy was generated during
the interaction of intruding magma with wet rocks on the cone’s flanks. The most mobile PDCs traveled up to 1 km
from their source. This previously unknown process on Etna may not be unique on this volcano and is likely
to have taken place on other volcanoes. It represents a newly recognized hazard to those who visit and work in the
vicinity of the summit of Etna.
Description:
A part of this research was funded by the
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) and by the
Dipartimento per la Protezione Civile (Italy).
Description:
Published
Description:
1249–1268
Description:
1.5. TTC - Sorveglianza dell'attività eruttiva dei vulcani
Description:
3.6. Fisica del vulcanismo
Description:
4.3. TTC - Scenari di pericolosità vulcanica
Description:
JCR Journal
Description:
open
Keywords:
Mount Etna
;
Pyroclastic density currents
;
Lava–water interaction
;
Hydrothermal alteration
;
Hazards
;
Volcano instability
;
2006 eruption
;
04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.99. General or miscellaneous
;
04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.01. Gases
;
04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.03. Magmas
;
04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.05. Volcanic rocks
;
04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.06. Volcano monitoring
;
04. Solid Earth::04.08. Volcanology::04.08.08. Volcanic risk
;
05. General::05.08. Risk::05.08.99. General or miscellaneous
Repository Name:
Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)
Type:
article
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