The intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from Voragine crater at Etna volcano: new insights through high-precision borehole strain recordings

Mount Etna is well known for its frequent lava fountains, or paroxysms, characterized by their intense explosive activity. Over the past decades, the Southeast Crater has been the most prolific, generating over a hundred events. More recently, three sequences of particularly powerful lava fountains...

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Main Authors: Alessandro Bonaccorso, Luigi Carleo, Gilda Currenti, Antonino Sicali
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Earth Science
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1606006/full
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author Alessandro Bonaccorso
Luigi Carleo
Gilda Currenti
Antonino Sicali
author_facet Alessandro Bonaccorso
Luigi Carleo
Gilda Currenti
Antonino Sicali
author_sort Alessandro Bonaccorso
collection DOAJ
description Mount Etna is well known for its frequent lava fountains, or paroxysms, characterized by their intense explosive activity. Over the past decades, the Southeast Crater has been the most prolific, generating over a hundred events. More recently, three sequences of particularly powerful lava fountains were erupted from the Voragine Crater: four episodes between 3 and 5 December 2015, three between 18 and 21 May 2016, and six between 4 July and 15 August 2024. This intense eruptive activity, accompanied by significant ash dispersal and fallout, severely impacted the infrastructure and accessibility of eastern Sicily, causing disruptions to air services and the temporary closure of Catania’s international airport. In this study, we investigated these intriguing phenomena through the high-precision strain data recorded by Etna’s network of borehole dilatometers. We modelled and interpreted the source of these paroxysmal events, examining its position, the magnitude of its volumetric change during the paroxysms, and its relationship with the volcano’s plumbing system, thereby advancing our understanding of these dynamic processes.
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institution Kabale University
issn 2296-6463
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Earth Science
spelling doaj-art-e235f2e682ab41be865331ab213f9d312025-08-20T03:29:03ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632025-07-011310.3389/feart.2025.16060061606006The intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from Voragine crater at Etna volcano: new insights through high-precision borehole strain recordingsAlessandro BonaccorsoLuigi CarleoGilda CurrentiAntonino SicaliMount Etna is well known for its frequent lava fountains, or paroxysms, characterized by their intense explosive activity. Over the past decades, the Southeast Crater has been the most prolific, generating over a hundred events. More recently, three sequences of particularly powerful lava fountains were erupted from the Voragine Crater: four episodes between 3 and 5 December 2015, three between 18 and 21 May 2016, and six between 4 July and 15 August 2024. This intense eruptive activity, accompanied by significant ash dispersal and fallout, severely impacted the infrastructure and accessibility of eastern Sicily, causing disruptions to air services and the temporary closure of Catania’s international airport. In this study, we investigated these intriguing phenomena through the high-precision strain data recorded by Etna’s network of borehole dilatometers. We modelled and interpreted the source of these paroxysmal events, examining its position, the magnitude of its volumetric change during the paroxysms, and its relationship with the volcano’s plumbing system, thereby advancing our understanding of these dynamic processes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1606006/fullEtna volcanolava fountainsvolcano monitoringborehole strainmeterseruption modeling
spellingShingle Alessandro Bonaccorso
Luigi Carleo
Gilda Currenti
Antonino Sicali
The intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from Voragine crater at Etna volcano: new insights through high-precision borehole strain recordings
Frontiers in Earth Science
Etna volcano
lava fountains
volcano monitoring
borehole strainmeters
eruption modeling
title The intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from Voragine crater at Etna volcano: new insights through high-precision borehole strain recordings
title_full The intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from Voragine crater at Etna volcano: new insights through high-precision borehole strain recordings
title_fullStr The intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from Voragine crater at Etna volcano: new insights through high-precision borehole strain recordings
title_full_unstemmed The intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from Voragine crater at Etna volcano: new insights through high-precision borehole strain recordings
title_short The intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from Voragine crater at Etna volcano: new insights through high-precision borehole strain recordings
title_sort intense explosive activity of lava fountain sequences from voragine crater at etna volcano new insights through high precision borehole strain recordings
topic Etna volcano
lava fountains
volcano monitoring
borehole strainmeters
eruption modeling
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2025.1606006/full
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