Mount Etna Volcano (Sicily, Italy)
Mount Etna is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Catania, between the cities of Messina and Catania. It lies above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. It is the tallest active volcano in Europe, currently 3,329 m high, though this varies with summit eruptions. It is the highest peak in Italy south of the Alps. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km2 with a basal circumference of 140 km. This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy, being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius. Only Mount Teide in Tenerife (owned by Spain) surpasses it in the whole of the European–North-African region. In Greek Mythology, the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under this mountain by Zeus, the god of the sky and thunder and king of gods, and the forges of Hephaestus were said to also be located underneath it. Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity. The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations. In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. More information is available on Wikipedia
These images acquired through a combination of optical bands, in this case Sentinel-2, show the Etna Volcano during the event (before/during the eruption). The volcano began erupting on 27 February and has been going strong since, continuously erupting streams of lava and ejecting rock and ash high into the air. A few days ago an unfortunate BBC news crew were at Mount Etna filming when the volcano began erupting rock and ash into the air. The team was far too close to the volcano and had to immediately evacuate, all the while being pelted by superheated rocks and burning boulders. Mount Etna is Europe's largest active volcano located in Sicily in southern Italy. In the image comparison it is possible to see the state of the eruption on 18 March.   View Sentinel-2 high resolution image before the eruption (JPG 6.4 MB) View Sentinel-2 high resolution image during the eruption (JPG 8.7 MB)
|
||||||||||||||||||
