Etna, the Italian could collapse in the sea | Science

Scientists have known for decades that the southeast slopes of Mount Etna, a working volcano on the east coast of Sicily in Italy, move to the sea about 2 to 3 centimeters a year. Now they have a better idea of ​​why this is happening, and that worries them.

In a new study, scientists collected data from seabed instruments that allowed them to track the movement of the volcano's underwater slopes over time. They studied for most of the 15-month period without anything happening. But during a period of 8 days in May 2017, the southeast flank of Mount Etna has moved 4 centimeters to the east, researchers said online Progress of science.

This is a much larger movement than recorded on Earth, suggesting that the southeast flank of the volcano collapses under its own weight. It is unclear whether, or when, this sluggish landslide will really break loose, but the researchers note that the sudden subsidence of underwater material has created devastating tsunamis in other parts of the world.