EGU2020-9120
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9120
EGU General Assembly 2020
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

The VEI 2 Christmas 2018 Etna Eruption: A small but intense eruptive event or the starting phase of a larger one?

Sonia Calvari, Giuseppe Bilotta, Alessandro Bonaccorso, Tommaso Caltabiano, Annalisa Cappello, Claudia Corradino, Ciro Del Negro, Gaetana Ganci, Marco Neri, Emilio Pecora, Giuseppe G. Salerno, and Letizia Spampinato
Sonia Calvari et al.
  • Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Osservatorio Etneo - Sezione di Catania, Catania, Italy (sonia.calvari@ingv.it)

The Etna flank eruption started on 24 December 2018 lasted a few days and involved the opening of an eruptive fissure, accompanied by a seismic swarm and shallow earthquakes, and by large and widespread ground deformation especially on the eastern flank of the volcano. Lava fountains and ash plume from the uppermost eruptive fissure have accompanied the opening stage causing disruption of Catania international airport, and have been followed by a quiet lava effusion within the barren Valle del Bove depression until 27 December. This is the first flank eruption occurring at Etna in the last decade, during which eruptive activity was confined to the summit craters and resulted in lava fountains and lava flow output from the crater rims. In this paper we use ground and satellite remote sensing techniques to describe the sequence of events, quantify the erupted volumes of lava, gas and tephra, and assess volcanic hazard.

How to cite: Calvari, S., Bilotta, G., Bonaccorso, A., Caltabiano, T., Cappello, A., Corradino, C., Del Negro, C., Ganci, G., Neri, M., Pecora, E., Salerno, G. G., and Spampinato, L.: The VEI 2 Christmas 2018 Etna Eruption: A small but intense eruptive event or the starting phase of a larger one?, EGU General Assembly 2020, Online, 4–8 May 2020, EGU2020-9120, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-9120, 2020.

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