Among the volcanoes on this planet, #Etna is the master of vapor (not smoke!) rings. In the year 2000 it made about 5000 (five thousand) of them. Here is one of the latest, photographed on the morning of 15 February 2021 from our home in Tremestieri Etneo, south of the summit.
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Boris Behncke
@etnaboris
Volcanologist with INGV-Osservatorio Etneo (Catania, Sicily). Happy husband & father. Intolerant to racism, fascism, misogyny, narcissism, violence. Prog lover
Boris Behncke’s Tweets
Did I call the 20-21 February paroxysm of #Etna "incredibly powerful"? Well, its successor, in the night of 22-23 February, was MUCH more powerful. Subplinian eruption column seen from home, Tremestieri Etneo, 23 February 2021, about 01:00h local time
Beautiful simultaneous (or almost so) explosions from four vents at #Stromboli volcano, nightfall on 4 March 2022
#Etna is not exactly famous for producing pyroclastic flows, though they are pretty common during her violent paroxysmal episodes. Here is a nice little one during the powerful paroxysm on the evening of 10 February 2022.
An incredibily powerful episode of lava fountaining (paroxysm) at Etna this night, 20-21 February 2021. Lava fountains exceeding 1000 m in height.
This is the most beautiful volcano on Earth.
So Mauna Loa volcano on the Big Island of Hawai'i is erupting, after more than 38 years of quiescence ( webcam image below). In order to try and keep false info from spreading, here are a few facts about this volcano and the new eruption.
#Etna's Southeast Crater makes spectacular lava bubbles at night, 15-16 February 2021
After four weeks of moderate activity at its summit craters, #Etna has unleashed a new paroxysmal eruptive episode from its Southeast Crater on the evening of 18 January 2021
Amazingly tall (more than 1500 m) lava fountains and spectacular "fountain fan" during #Etna's violent paroxysm during the night of 22-23 February 2021. View from our home in Tremestieri Etneo.
Another incredibly spectacular, powerful paroxysm at the Southeast Crater on #Etna, 21 February 2022
Lava fountains, pyroclastic flow and lightning during the latest paroxysmal eruptive episode at #Etna, 24 February 2021
A new episode of lava fountaining occurred at #Etna's Southeast Crater during the early morning hours of 22 December 2020. View from home in Tremestieri Etneo, south of the volcano
Since about one week, #Etna is releasing dozens of gas rings (also called "volcanic vortex rings") every day. They come from a narrow vent in the SE part of the Bocca Nuova crater, one of the four active summit craters of the volcano, the same vent described in my previous post.
Activity is gradually increasing at #Etna's Southeast Crater, building up toward the 16th paroxysmal eruptive episode in little more than five weeks. Loud detonations audible in the southern sector of the volcano. View is from home in Tremestieri Etneo
Impressive scenes of the #LaPalmaeruption filmed from drones, 20 September 2021. Eruption type extremely similar to a flank eruption at Etna. The swimming pool scene is absolutely incredible.
Intense explosive activity at #Etna's Southeast Crater on the evening of 15 February 2021. Will post a brief video clip tomorrow (slow internet tonight)
#Etna has slept for a few weeks, and then lit the fire again: after two powerful explosions and a few smaller ash emissions, the Southeast Crater is in mild Strombolian activity on the evening of 26 April 2021. Nothing dramatic, but nice to watch.
#Etna is not slowing down: a new paroxysm at the Southeast Crater during the early morning hours of 25 June 2021
THREAD: After a few hours of minor phreatic and then phreatomagmatic explosions, #Taal volcano on the Philippine island of Luzon has entered into a major explosive eruption. Taal has been quiescent since a small phreatic eruption in October 1977.
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Streaks of lightning blazed through columns of ashes amid #TaalVolcano eruption as seen from Nasugbu, Batangas on Sunday evening. Photo from Domcar Lagto, ABS-CBN News
Somebody complained that many of my videos of #Etna's eruptions have no sound or music they don't like. Here is a video with the true eruption sound, from less than 3 km away, during the latest paroxysm at the Southeast Crater, on the morning of 1 April 2021.
A few scenes of the powerful paroxysm at #Etna's Southeast Crater on the forenoon of 23 October 2021. Note pyroclastic flow in 3rd photo. There were quite a few of them (but luckily small and harmless).
A few words on earthquake "prediction", which is again much en vogue after the horrible disaster in Turkey and Syria. I will explain why this is not a thing, really.
#Etna's first flank eruption for nearly 11 years, seen at nightfall from the port of Riposto, to the east of the volcano, 24 December 2018
A few moments of #Etna's 11th paroxysmal eruptive episode in little more than three weeks, early on 10 March 2021. Views are from home in Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km south of the summit of the volcano. Weather conditions were not excellent, but provided some extra visual effects.
There's nothing like living with a view of an erupting volcano before your kitchen and bedroom windows.
After the conclusion of last night's paroxysm at #Etna, lava continues oozing from several vents on the Southeast Crater, on the evening of 24 March 2021.
Start of #Etna's first flank eruption for more than 10 years, shortly after noon on 24 December 2018, seen from my home in the village of Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km south of the summit of the volcano
24 March 2021, 03:37h local time: explosive activity at #Etna's Southeast Crater increases abruptly, leading to the sliding of hot material deposited on the crater's steep flank, and generating a pyroclastic flow about 1 km long toward the Valle del Bove
#Etna erupting from her Southeast Crater, seen from home in Tremestieri Etneo on the evening of 16 May 2022.
#Etna produced her 13th paroxysm at the Southeast Crater during the night of 14-15 March 2021. Luckily, weather clouds opened during the climax of the activity, and it was once more The Greatest Show On Earth. Photos taken from home in Tremestieri Etneo
The effects of the "secret" paroxysm at #Etna's Southeast Crater on 21 May 2023. Invisible due to horrible weather conditions, the event showered the SW flank of the volcano with ash and lapilli. Ash later fell also on the south flank, interrupting operations at Catania airport
A wonderfully aesthetic, completely harmless natural display at #Etna's Southeast Crater, on the evening of 14 May 2022. Views are from the "Mareneve" road near Fornazzo (east flank of Etna) and from our home in Tremestieri Etneo (south flank).
#Etna is erupting again on the evening of 31 March 2021, with strong explosive activity at the Southeast Crater, and emission of lava and "spattering" (ejection of blobs of liquid lava) from a vent at the south base of the Southeast Crater. View from home in Tremestieri Etneo
#Etna is building up for her 12th paroxysm at the Southeast Crater in little less than a month. Scenes of mild Strombolian activity at sunrise on 12 March 2021, seen from home in Tremestieri Etneo. Activity is now gradually increasing.
One of the most beautiful paroxysmal eruptive episodes of the current series is going on right now at #Etna, 12 June 2021
Once more, after several days of quiescence, #Etna's Southeast Crater is producing small but cute Strombolian explosions. Seen from home on the evening of 3 May 2021.
The powerful, beautiful paroxysm at #Etna's Southeast Crater on the morning of 12 March 2021, seen from home in Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km south of Etna's summit. Once more, an eruption column rose more than 10 km high; tephra fallout to the east
Activity at #Etna's Southeast Crater has been increasing during the evening of 10 February 2022, and is now in a full paroxysmal phase, with lava fountains 500-600 m tall, lava flows to southwest and southeast, and an eruption column several kilometers high.
This view never ceases to amaze me.
#Etna in eruption seen from home, 20 km to the south, at nightfall on 23 May 2022.
The video of an incandescent lava ball rolling down the side of #LaPalmaVolcano is impressing the world. In reality, this is not unusual during volcanic eruptions. Here is a BIG lava ball rolling down the side of #Etna, 6 August 2014 (my colleague at end of video gives scale)
#Etna is an amazing volcano, especially in this period. But the technology we have now to measure everything she does, and everything that she produces, is equally awesome. This is a fabulous time for being a volcanologist.
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Incredible #Etna! The SO2 emissions from the Italian #volcano, after the violent paroxysm of last night, reached Sardinia, Corsica and part of #Italy, as you can see in this #Copernicus #Sentinel5p image (Feb. 23). Le emissioni dell'Etna raggiungono il centro #Italia ! #Sicily
The current eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater is continuing, with a gradual increase in the intensity of explosive activity and emission of a small lava flow onto the southwest flank of the cone. Views from Tremestieri Etneo, 10 February 2022
#Etna is back: after 6 weeks of relative calm, a new episode of lava fountaining occurred early on 19 May 2021 at the Southeast Crater. Less intense than those of February-April, but rather beautiful, since it occurred at daybreak. View is from home (Tremestieri Etneo)
The happy little lava flow near #Etna's Southeast Crater, high on the east flank of the volcano, is continuing and gradually expanding further. Photos taken at nightfall from near Ripe della Naca, on the east-northeast flank of the volcano. 16 December 2022
Beautiful, tall lava fountains from #Etna's Southeast Crater during its latest paroxysm, during the earliest hours of 21 June 2021. Ash and lapilli fall to east-southeast. View in photo is from home in Tremestieri Etneo.
The 10th paroxysmal eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater on the morning of 7 March 2021 was rather violent & caused heavy pyroclastic fallout over villages & towns on the E flank (Milo, Sant'Alfio, Giarre). Photos taken in Passopisciaro (N flank) & Fornazzo (E flank)
#Etna's New Southeast Crater erupting from its "saddle vent" and two fissures on its southern base on the evening of 27 July 2019. View is from southwest
Scenes of #Etna's 4 March 2021 paroxysm: early lava flow from SE Crater & explosion at Voragine crater; new vent at base of SE Crater; ash emission from Voragine & SE Crater; 11 km eruption column at height of paroxysm. Views from home in Tremestieri Etneo
A few scenes of #Etna's paroxsm of yesterday (16 February 2021): pyroclastic flow at beginning of paroxysm; eruption column seen from home and later from road while driving around the volcano; lava flows in Valle del Bove after cessation of lava fountaining.
Sicily's other active volcano, #Stromboli, explodes from a steep-sided cone (hornito) sending fragments of incandescent lava several tens of meters high & blocks down to the sea. 19 August 2021. This is the normal activity of Stromboli, called ... "strombolian activity"! 😊
It should be spring, but winter has returned to Etna. View from home, 22 March 2022
Scenes from our (INGV-Osservatorio Etneo staff) visit to the summit craters of #Etna, 25 February 2020, including drone footage. Video by Massimo Cantarero, Boris Behncke and Emanuela De Beni, music by Boris Behncke youtube.com/watch?v=YOOkHm
#Etna's Southeast Crater erupting, 19-20 May 2022. Video is shaky (and sound off) due to strong wind that shook my tripod.
Second paroxysmal eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater in less than 36 hours, early on 18 February 2021. Possibly a bit more intense than its predecessor. Here is a view from near the village of Milo, on the east flank of the volcano, taken shortly after 01:00 local time
A few moments of the latest paroxysm at #Etna's Southeast Crater on the evening of 24 May 2021. Video recorded from home in Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km south of the summit of the volcano.
New eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater on the morning of 30 May 2021. Not too violent, not much ash fall, but very beautiful ... and very loud. View from home in Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km south of Etna's summit
Lava flows high on the east flank of #Etna after its brief, violent and spectacular (and entirely harmless) paroxysm on the evening of 16 February 2021, seen from the village of Santa Venerina.
Here we go again! #Etna's Southeast Crater is building up for its first paroxysmal eruptive episode since 20 July. View from home in Tremestieri Etneo on the evening of 31 July 2021.
Ninth paroxysmal eruptive episode in 16 days at #Etna's Southeast Crater, 4 March 2021. 12 km tall eruption column seen from home in Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km south of the summit of the volcano
The new year has been greeted by the continuing effusive eruption at #Etna, initiated on 27 November 2022 at the northeastern base of the Southeast Crater. Here are some photos taken at nightfall on 2 January 2023, from a panoramic point high on the northeast flank of the volcano
In the middle of the cold, stormy night, the blazing heat from #Etna's summit craters illuminated the winter sky. Left: Bocca Nuova crater, right the "saddle vent" and far right the eastern vents of the Southeast Crater. 10 February 2021
You have to click on this photo to see how much #Etna's Southeast Crater has changed over the past 14 years. Photos were taken from the "Monte Barbagallo" cone formed in 2002-2003, about 1.5 km south of the Southeast Crater
After more than 6 weeks of complete silence, #Etna's Southeast Crater has come back to life early on 30 January 2022. Small ash emissions and Strombolian explosions have been visible throughout the day and into this evening. Photos taken from home in Tremestieri Etneo
#Etna's paroxysms now come at a rhythm of one per day. Here's today's one (23 June 2021), which occurred at daybreak, creating a symphony of light and colors.
#Etna has a new, "breathing" vent. It formed a few days ago in the Bocca Nuova crater, one of the four summit craters of the volcano. Some of these exhalations generate beautiful gas rings. However, this is NOT a sign of imminent eruption. Video taken on 20 July 2023
After more bad weather and more snow on #Etna, the volcano again shows off at dawn on 4 December 2020, with eruptive activity from two vents at the Southeast Crater and sporadic explosions from the Bocca Nuova crater.
A few moments of the second short episode of Strombolian activity culminating in lava fountaining at #Etna's Southeast Crater during the night of 13-14 December 2020.
Since the late afternoon of 13 December 2021, #Etna is emitting a tiny lava flow from a new vent on the eastern flank, deep within the vast, desert-like Valle del Bove. No explosive and no seismic activity. Views from Santa Venerina and San Leonardello
#Etna's 44th paroxysmal eruptive episode at the Southeast Crater since 16 February 2021 occurred shortly after midnight on 7 July 2021. Tephra (ash & lapilli) was blown southward, obscuring the view from our home. These are my best shots of this rather intense, loud event.
Deep within the large scar left by the collapse of the flank of the Southeast Crater on #Etna, on 13 December 2020, there are three small vents making little explosions and building tiny scoria cones. 12 February 2021 at nightfall, from town of Biancavilla, on Etna's SW flank.
After a single, powerful and loud explosion at #Etna's Southeast Crater on the morning of 30 March 2021, it seemed as though a new paroxysm was about to occur. But only in the evening did Strombolian activity start, which is now very slowly increasing.
Scenes of #Etna's new, sub-terminal eruption, during the night of 30-31 May 2019, seen from Santa Venerina, Fiumefreddo and (last photo) Tremestieri Etneo. "Sub-terminal" means the eruption is occurring close to the summit craters, generally at around 2900-3000 m elevation
#Etna's Southeast Crater erupted again late on 8 July 2021. This is the view from Lipari, about 70 km to the north.
Second paroxysmal eruptive episode in one day at #Etna's Southeast Crater at sunset on 23 June 2021. These are frantic days, there are a lot of incredibly spectacular moments, but this activity also poses a certain pressure on us - both the scientists and the Etnean population.
... and with this view, I finally fell asleep yesterday evening, after about 36 hours without sleep. Etna's New Southeast Crater, seen from Tremestieri Etneo at 22:25 - 22:35 h on 24 August 2018
People think that volcanoes are terrible (and yes, they can be). But they don't lust for power or wealth as our species. On this day it is once more evident that many humans are far worse than volcanoes.
Ash emissions from #Etna's Southeast & Northeast Craters, 24 February 2022
Beautiful Strombolian activity at two vents on #Etna's Southeast Crater on the evening of 23 January 2021. Every now and then weak glows can also be seen at the Bocca Nuova crater (at left in the third photo).
The two active Sicilian volcanoes, #Stromboli and #Etna, seen from Vulcano island on the morning of 24 September 2022.
#Etna has a new summit: the Southeast Crater (3357 m). Now it's official, thanks to the detailed satellite image analysis made by my colleague Tania Ganci: after 40 years, Etna is growing again, and the former summit, the Northeast Crater, remains at 3324 m.
During the latest paroxysmal episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater, on 14 July 2021, the nearby Bocca Nuova crater and surrounding areas up to >1km distant were subjected to a heavy bombardment by large fragments of volcanic rock. Seen from 6.2 km distance
Another night of fireworks on #Etna, whose crater Voragine continues building its new internal cone, the new Central Cone of the volcano - taken from home in Tremestieri Etneo on the evening of 6 March 2020.
Replying to
you're one lady with strange (or rather, perverse) taste. Guy looks old, fat, and tired. Plus, he's one of the worst human beings currently dwelling on the planet.
For the first time since the beginning of the slow, effusive eruption high on the east flank of #Etna, the active lava flow fronts are directly visible from our home in Tremestieri Etneo, on the south side of the volcano. Photos taken at daybreak, 29 December 2022
On the evening of 4 June 2021, a new paroxysmal eruptive episode occurred at the Southeast Crater of #Etna. Ash falls to southeast, small lava flow to southwest. Photos taken from Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km to the south of Etna's summit
Some of the most impressive images of yesterday's (3 July 2019) powerful explosion at #Stromboli come from Charlie Anil, who happened to be in an airplane over the volcano.
New, very brief and rather powerful paroxysmal eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater, 28 February 2021 morning. Sub-Plinian eruption column seen from home in Tremestieri Etneo, 20 km south of Etna's summit
A powerful new paroxysm occurred at #Etna's Southeast Crater at lunch time on 14 July 2021. Here are some moments during the early phase of the paroxysm, which subsequently became much more violent.
#Etna's Southeast Crater continues producing intense paroxysmal episodes, the latest early on 17 March and on the morning of 19 March 2021. This video, of 17 March, has the loud bangs and pressure waves that made everything vibrate, at at my home in Tremestieri Etneo. Listen!
#Etna's Southeast Crater in mild Strombolian activity on the evening of 27 April 2021, seen from Monte Fontane on the east flank of the volcano. Red streak on flank in first photo is NOT a lava flow but incandescent material rolling down the slope.
#Etna is restarting: Strombolian activity at the Southeast Crater announces a new paroxysmal eruptive episode in the making. 2 March 2021
Saturday Night Fever: yet another paroxysm at #Etna's Southeast Crater on the evening of 19 June 2021. Brief but violent, ash & lapilli toward south (including our home at Tremestieri Etneo, Mascalucia, Nicolosi, Catania and areas further south)
The glorious view from home of snow-covered, erupting #Etna during a moonlit night, 29-30 November 2020.
We're witnessing the start of a new paroxysmal eruptive episode at #Etna's Southeast Crater, 19 February 2021
#Etna: 365 days and a few hours lie between these two images - the first taken on the evening of 10 February 2022 during a powerful paroxysmal episode at the Southeast Crater, the second on the mornig of 11 February 2023, after the heaviest snow falls for at least 8 years.
Since the morning of 29 May 2022, a new lava flow is issuing from a vent at about 2800 m elevation below #Etna's Southeast Crater. These views were taken from Santa Venerina, on the east flank of the volcano, on the evening of 29 May 2022.
Mild eruptive activity continues at the Southeast Crater at the summit of #Etna on the evening of 30 January 2021. Here we see strong glow (caused by reflection of the incandescence in the gas plume) at the eastern vents (right), and a small burst from the "saddle vent" (center).
#Etna's New Southeast Crater (the "saddle cone") has finally made it, after trying several times in the past few days. Strombolian activity and small lava fountains under way, 19 April 2020
