Major effusive eruptions and recent lava fountains: Balance between expected and erupted magma volumes at Etna volcano

Abstract

AbstractOver the last four decades Etna has shown a high output rate through numerous eruptions. The volcano has displayed two eruptive behaviors. The first is characterized by effusive eruptions that efficiently drained the storage system and emitted large volumes of magma; the second behavior is related to lava fountains, erupting small magma batches, which are normally with high frequency and have been considered as precursors of major effusive eruptions. In this paper, we present an updated estimation of emitted volumes from Etna eruptions, which include the 38 lava fountain episodes that occurred from January 2011 to April 2013. These recent explosive episodes have been frequent, discharging significant magma volumes. Observing the steady trend of magma output over time, we present insights on expected erupted volumes. We highlight that the January 2011 to April 2013 lava fountains efficiently drained the intermediate‐shallow storage system and favored a balance between the incoming and outgoing magma.