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Etna, Europe’s tallest and most active volcano, has erupted so much in the past six months that it has reached a height of around 30 meters, satellite images show.
The youngest and most active of the four craters atop Etna – the Southeast Crater – is now the highest part of the volcano, culminating at 11,013 feet (3,357 m) above the level of the sea, the highest ever recorded in history, according to the National Institute for Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), located at the foot of Mount Etna in Catania, Sicily.
This sudden growth spurt is the result of some fifty eruptions in the southeastern crater since February 16, 2021, which have led to a “notable transformation in the shape of the volcano”, the INGV reported in a translated statement published on August 10. Scientists discovered the explosive growth while analyzing images taken by the Pleiades Earth Imaging Satellites on July 13 and 25. The data has an uncertainty of about 10 feet (3 m), the INGV noted.
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In fact, the southeast crater is now taller than its “big brother”, the northeast crater, the highest peak on Etna for 40 years.
After the northeast crater erupted in 1980 and 1981, it reached a maximum height of 10,990 feet (3,350 m). But that height decreased over the years as the edges of the crater collapsed. In the summer of 2018, the northeast crater was 10,912 feet (3,326 m) high.
It is believed that Etna began as an underwater volcano that slowly grew above sea level as it erupted, time and time again, gradually increasing its height with solidified lava, according to the NASA Earth Observatory. It is now largely covered with historic lava flows from eruptions that occurred up to 300,000 years ago. To obtain a digital 3D view of the summit of Etna, go here.
Originally posted on Live Science.
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