It appears that Etna is going full-steam-ahead right now with a constant stream of paroxysms. Tonight the Italian volcano had its third in a little over a week and although it was shrouded by clouds for much of the eruption, it was still captured on video (see above). From the looks of the video, multiple vents were erupting from the New Southeast Crater, producing a splay of lava fountains during this intense strombolian eruption. The view from the home of Dr. Boris Behncke really showed off the size of some of these lava fountains, likely measuring in the hundreds of meters. Areas to the north and northwest of Etna saw ash and lapilli fall from this vigorous eruption as well. This new eruption also produced lava flows that moved down the slopes of the volcano into the Valle del Bove (see below), spreading out as they reached flatter territory, spreading small tongues of lava in many directions.
Lava flows from the December 2, 2013 eruption from Etna's New Southeast Crater. Image: Dr. Boris Behncke / Flickr.
Video: By permission from Turi Caggegi, taken December 2, 2013.
