Italy's Volcanoes: The Cradle of Volcanology

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NE Rift, October 2003
Frozen lava lake filling an old crater in the lower portion of the Northeast Rift, seen here one year after its formation on 27 October 2002, on the first day of the devastating eruption near Piano Provenzana. The 2002 eruptive fissure opened across this crater, and lava accumulated on its floor before spilling through a notch in its N rim, on the far side of the crater. The large cone seen in the background is Monte Nero, formed during a large eruption in 1646-1647

Etna photo gallery: 2003
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Part 4: September-October 2003

Battling against Etna's weather, late October 2003

The last field trip made with an excursion group in 2003 was scheduled for late October, normally a period of stable, fine weather in the Etna region. But this time things took a different course. Inclement weather persisted for most of the time, curtailing much of the excursion program, and forcing us to find alternative destinations. It was mainly due to the good spirit of the members of the group (of the Open University Geological Society, Mainland Europe branch - OUGS-ME) that the excursion did not end up as a failure; certainly the fact that most of those people live in a pretty rainy part of the world did help a lot. We eventually managed to visit the 2002 eruptive fissure on the Northeast Rift and the south flank of Etna, and make a few short trips to other areas on the mountain. Among the highlights of the tour were the various stops in restaurants around the volcano, where we enjoyed the specialty of the season, fresh funghi porcini (boletus mushrooms), which are of unbelievable quality.

South flank, October 2003
Excursion group of the Open University Geological Society (Mainland Europe) on the summit of Monte Sona, south flank of Etna. The upper part of the volcano is hidden in dense cloud in the background. During the one-week long field trip, this was one out of two days with reasonably good weather conditions
1911 fissure
2002 lava flow
Left: pyroclastic cones and lava flow channel in the lowermost portion of the 1911 eruptive fissure on the Northeast Rift
Right: the typical chaotic aspect of the 2002 lavas erupted from the Northeast Rift. This flow lobe extended northeastward from the lowest vents of the 2002 eruptive fissure and covered a section of the Forest Guard road, which was reopened only in the summer of 2003. Photos taken by Catherine Lemercier
2002 lava flow
Lava flow of October 2002 passing on the eastern side of Monte Rosso (the densely vegetated cone in right background) and cutting a portion of the Forest Guard road (reopened shortly before this visit). For many months between the 2002 eruption and the reopening of the road, hikers were forced to struggle their way across this lava field. Photo taken by Catherine Lemercier
Monte Rosso
Monte Rosso
Two views of the prehistoric cone of Monte Rosso on the lower Northeast Rift; lavas of the 2002 eruption in the foreground in left image and 1923 lava flow is seen in the foreground in right photograph. Photos taken by Catherine Lemercier
Autumn colors Autumn colors
Autumn colors
Autumn colors
The colors of autumn on Etna: these photographs (taken by Catherine Lemercier) show the area between Monte Timparossa (seen in the background of the images) and the Grotta dei Lamponi, on Etna's north flank. The lavas in the foreground are mostly of the voluminous 1614-1624 eruption, while the dark lava tongues seen in the lower right photograph were erupted in 1947
Grotta dei Lamponi
Grotta dei Lamponi
Grotta dei Lamponi
One of the most accessible lava caves of Etna, the Grotta dei Lamponi, lies on the north flank of the volcano at about 1650 m elevation. The main entrance to the cave is seen in the left and center images (with some of the members of the OUGS-ME group); right photograph shows a "skylight" in the roof of the cave and myself standing on the floor of the cave. Photos taken by Catherine Lemercier
NE Rift, October 2003
NE Rift, October 2003
The 2002 eruptive fissure on the Northeast Rift revisited: these photographs show the lower-central portion of the fissure, where a deep chasm was opened, immediately below the vents that produced the first major lava flow on 27 October 2002. The chasm opened a few hours after those vents, and activity at the effusive vents subsided; however, some still-fluid lava is seen to have cascaded into the chasm in the right photograph. Left view is in downrift and right view in uprift direction
NE Rift, October 2003 NE Rift, October 2003 NE Rift, October 2003
Details of the stratigraphy exposed in the walls of the October 2002 chasm are seen in this photographs. There are three main units: a succession of brown ash horizons rich in lithic blocks and up to 5 m thick at the bottom, followed by up to 3 m of black lapilli, and a top unit composed mainly of lithic blocks with minor fresh bombs and scoriae, ranging in thickness from 0.5 to 2 m. The top unit was emplaced during the October 2002 activity, which opened the chasm; here the activity essentially blew out pre-existing rock, while purely magmatic activity had occurred shortly before near the upper end of the chasm
NE Rift, October 2003
NE Rift, October 2003
Immediately downrift from the chasm seen in the previous photographs, the October 2002 eruptive fissure cut through a steep slope (left) and then propagated across an old crater (right), which was rapidly filled by a shallow pond of lava
NE Rift, October 2003
NE Rift, October 2003
Two panoramic views of the lava pond that formed during the Northeast Rift eruption on 27 October 2002. This event occurred at about the same time when all people watching the progress of the eruption from Piano Provenzana were evacuated. Further propagation of the fissure to the terrain east of Monte Nero (the large cone seen in the background in the right-hand image) occurred later that day and led to the opening of the most destructive vents close to Piano Provenzana, which are seen in the center background of the left image. Photographs taken by Catherine Lemercier
NE Rift, October 2003
The black lava flow seen in this photograph (taken by Catherine Lemercier) was the first to reach Piano Provenzana on 27 October 2002. It advanced very rapidly and caused the total evacuation of the tourist area, which was inundated by lava flows from lower vents later that day
NE Rift, October 2003
NE Rift, October 2003
Left: eruptive vents in the lowermost portion of the October 2002 eruptive fissure (foreground), which became active late on 27 October 2002. In the background lies the large pyroclastic cone of Monte Nero (1646-1647 eruption); the lower hills to the right of it were formed during the same eruption
Right: the last section of the 2002 eruptive fissure opened during the night of 27-28 October, and here the most productive vents became active, which poured out most of the lava of this eruption. The lava that destroyed Piano Provenzana, only a few hundred meters away, came from these vents. Photographs taken by Catherine Lemercier
NE Rift, October 2003
NE Rift, October 2003
These images show the impressive vents and associated lava flow channels that brought devastation to Piano Provenzana. Monte Nero is seen in the background in the left image. Photographs taken by Catherine Lemercier
NE Rift, October 2003
Panoramic view of the Piano Provenzana area, one year after the devastating eruption on the nearby Northeast Rift. The black lava field in the center of the image formed during the one-week long eruption between 27 October and 5 November 2002; new roads have been traced upon the lava marking the first step of the long and difficult reconstruction of the tourist center. In the background lie the Peloritani mountains, and still further distant at left, the Aspromonte massif of southern Calabria. Photo taken by Catherine Lemercier
W flank, October 2003
W flank, October 2003
Suggestive views of Etna from northwest, with thin strata of clouds drifting below the summit craters
House in 1983 lava flow
A popular tourist attraction, this house was surrounded by a lava flow erupted on the south flank of Etna in 1983. The nearby access road to the tourist facilities around the Rifugio Sapienza was buried by the same lava flow and was reopened to traffic only twelve years later, in 1995. At that time, all the rooftiles were still present and intact, but many visitors in the 9 years since then have taken nearly all the rooftiles as souvenirs, and it is only the naked carcass of concrete that remains now - photograph taken on 30 October 2003
2001 crater, October 2003
Calvarina, October 2003
2001 lava flow, October 2003
Impressions of Etna's south flank, 30 October 2003.
Left: the small cone built at the lowermost fissure of the 2001 eruption stands silently in a dark landscape covered with lavas and ash of the eruptions of 2001 and 2002-2003, with the Montagnola in the left background
Center: View over lava fields of the 1766 and 1892 eruptions, covered with black ash of the 2002-2003 eruption, and the irregular crater of Monte Serra Pizzuta Calvarina in the left background
Right: the most advanced portion of the July-August 2001 lava flow (erupted from the vent seen in left photograph) forms a dark ribbon in a landscape dominated by older lava flows and vegetated cones. This flow stopped 4 km short of the town of Nicolosi, which lies behind the distant, twin-peaked cone of the Monti Rossi (seen in right distance). The gray lava flow in the foreground is of 1910 and advanced much further downslope. Photo was taken from Monte Sona, looking SSE
Monti Rossi, October 2003
Monti Rossi, October 2003
Monti Rossi, October 2003
Scenes from the Monti Rossi, the large cone formed during the 1669 eruption near Nicolosi, on Etna's south flank.
Left: view over the northern portion of the crater of the Monti Rossi, showing notch in the crater rim. The cone and crater of the Monti Rossi have been reforested to create some kind of a public recreation area for the Nicolosi residents
Center: peculiar rock formation immediately below the eastern peak of the Monti Rossi cone, consisting of scoriae cemented by fumarolic deposits
Right: a similar outcrop of fumarolized scoriae within the crater has been transformed into a small shrine dedicated to S. Agata, the patron saint of Catania
Mompilieri, October 2003
Mompilieri, October 2003
About 1.5 km south of the Monti Rossi, another youthful cone rises from the densely populated area of Nicolosi, Mompilieri. This cone was allegedly formed during an eruption about 695 B.C. although a lava flow also attributed to that eruption is of prehistoric age. Nonetheless, the morphology of the cone indicates a fairly young age. A new residential area lies between the Monti Rossi and Mompilieri, not exactly in a safe place: this area was entirely covered by lavas of the 1669 Monti Rossi eruption

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