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The following
thumbnails are video captures taken from the awesome footage taken by
British cameraman David Bryant during the violent paroxysmal eruptive
episode at the Southeast Crater on the late afternoon of 15 February 2000.
The clips, which you can view by clicking on the thumbnails, show all
stages of the event from the initial mild Strombolian activity over the
opening of a new eruptive vent on the upper S flank of the SE Crater cone
and the culmination of the activity with dramatic high lava fountains,
to the abrupt termination of the fountaining and the view of the cone
after all activity has ended, covered all over with glowing pyroclastics
and lava.
Bryant and his companions (of which several have already posted spectacular
photos on their web sites) were standing next to the Torre del Filosofo
mountain hut, filming, photographing, and simply observing the activity.
The first seven clips were taken from a few meters to the east of the
building, while the following ten were taken from behind the sheltering
roof of the building, with Bryant standing on top of an accumulation of
snow, allowing him to peer over the roof.
The movie files
are mpeg files and are of high resolution with good sound quality. File
sizes are from 1.5 to 3.5 MB. If
your connection to the MTU web server (where "Italy's Volcanoes:
The Cradle of Volcanology" is hosted) is slow, try to download these
movies at Stromboli
On-line. You may also facilitate downloading by using a program such
as Go!Zilla or GetRight
which can be freely obtained from the respective web sites.
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Left:
Initial stage of the paroxysm, shortly before 1800 h (local time=GMT+1)
on 15 February 2000. The activity consists of intermittent weak
Strombolian bursts, and ejecta rarely rise above the crater rim.
Center: As the Strombolian activity from the summit vent of the
SE Crater gradually increases, a new vent suddenly bursts open just
below the notch in the southern crater rim, and a small pulsating
lava fountain becomes active.
Right: Strombolian activity increases further, involving several
vents in the summit crater of the SE Crater cone, and the newly
opened vent on the upper south flank of the cone.
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Left:
A small lava flow begins to flow from the vent on the upper southern
flank, while the Strombolian bursts at this vent and in the main
vents above continue to increase.
Center: The lava flow from the south flank vent rapidly advances,
and forms repeated surges overriding each other; blocks detaching
from the flow front roll further downslope.
Right: The Strombolian bursts, which have become more and more frequent
and vigorous, are now blending into continuous, pulsating fountains,
and bombs begin to fall in an ever larger radius around the erupting
vents.
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Left:
Suddenly the activity increases dramatically: accompanied by an
angry growl from the SE Crater, huge jets of incandescent lava rise
ever higher from the erupting vents; these jets are more and more
inclined to the south, right towards the Torre del Filosofo, and
the group of people standing next to it, watching the spectacle.
These people are forced to seek shelter under a small protruding
roof on the SE side of the Torre del Filosofo building, in order
to escape from a rain of bombs, which lasts only a few seconds.
Center: After the rain of bombs around the Torre del Filosofo has
ceased, David Bryant peers over the roof of the building and films
the continuing activity. The lava fountains have now stabilized
in a huge vertical column, while a broad lava flow exits through
a fissure on the southern flank of the cone, and rapidly arrives
at the cone's base.
Right: This clip shows some of the dynamics within the fire-fountain
rising from the SE Crater at the height of the activity. Note the
turbulence, resembling a true flame, in the central part of the
column. The height of the fountain is in the range of 500-700 m.
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These
three clips all show the ongoing culminating phase of the paroxysm,
with varying views ranging from wide-angle to zooms onto the cone,
the lava flow, the vents, and the lava fountains. The last of these
clips shows a beginning decline in the vigor of the lava fountains.
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Left:
The paroxysm ends with the abrupt and complete cessation of fountaining,
followed by smaller, isolated bursts of incandescent pyroclastics.
Right: A view of the SE Crater cone after the end of the paroxysm,
covered all over with glowing bombs and spatter, with lava still
flowing out of the fissure on its southern flank.
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BONUS
CLIP: THE ESCALATION
Attention:
this clip is about 1:10 min long (6.1 MB!)
Click on any of the thumbnails below to download the movie |
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The
nine frames above show scenes from the short period when the activity
escalated dramatically, that is, at shortly after 1800 h on 15 February
2000. They show the passage from relatively mild lava fountaining
to a sudden oblique jet that rises ever higher, until its top arrives
right above the Torre del Filosofo and the group of people standing
there, observing the eruption. At about the time of the second frame,
a loud, angry roar was emitted by the crater, and shortly thereafter,
another one, followed by an impressive spray of bombs high above
the top of the fountain. In order to capture the whole scene, David
zoomed out repeatedly. Yet the fountain rapidly grew larger - so
large indeed, that even at a full wide-angle view, the camera did
not capture the entire fountain. David then lifted his camera, which
was mounted on a tripod, to view the rising top of the fountain
(last two frames), and observed that bombs were beginning to fall
right in his direction: "Some bombs were not moving - they
were just getting bigger." David and his five companions (among
whom Marco Fulle, Tom Pfeiffer and Thorsten Boeckel, who posted
their still images on various web sites) seeked shelter under a
side roof of the Torre del Filosofo building. Seventeen seconds
after the fountain reached its maximum height - probably up to 1000
m - bombs began to crash onto the ground around and beyond the building.
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