In the early hours of 22 December 2020, a new paroxysmal episode occurred at the South-East Crater of Etna.
The episode is the third in the last ten days and follows, after about 18 hours of calm, the intense Strombolian activity and the paroxysmal episode that occurred on 21 December and already recorded by the surveillance networks of the Etna Observatory of the Institute National Geophysics and Volcanology (OE-INGV).
Shortly after 03:00 (local time) there was a gradual increase in the amplitude of the volcanic tremor and an intensification of the Strombolian activity at the Southeast Crater.
At 04:20 a lava overflow was already underway through the south-western sector of the cone of the South-East Crater, collapsed during the paroxysm of December 13, which fed lava flows towards the south-west and south-east, which are superimposed on those of the previous day. A third lava flow formed from an overflow on the north-eastern flank, heading towards the Valle del Leone.
Around 05:00, for less than an hour, the activity assumed the character of a lava fountain, while the lava flows continued to advance slowly, to then stop completely during the late morning.
There are still sporadic explosions at the Voragine crater that produce small puffs of ash.
Etna's activity is constantly monitored by the INGV Etna Observatory in Catania. In the morning, OE-INGV personnel went to the affected area to take samples of the products emitted during today's paroxysm.
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Figure 1 - Etna, 22 December 2020
Figure 2 - Etna, 22 December 2020
Figure 3 - Etna, 22 December 2020. Credits: Boris Behncke
