ROME – Etna, one of the most active volcanoes in Europe, has been erupting for just over a week circular smoke ringspredominantly white, towards the skies of Sicily.
It is not the first time that Etna enchants spectators with its puffs (it has been nicknamed the Gandalf of volcanoes, in honor of the wizard who blows his pipe in “The Lord of the Rings”).
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For days the volcano has been sending rings of volcanic vortices into the sky above Sicily.
But experts say that this month Etna “broke all previous records” with the frequency of rings, according to Boris Behncke, Etna’s volcanologist. National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania, who posted the phenomenon on Facebook.
Whim
The rings, known as volcanic vortex rings, appeared this month after a small vent opened on the northwest rim of the southeast crater.
The phenomenon occurs when enough pressure builds up for the magma inside the crater to push condensed gases, mostly water vapor, through the vent.
In this case the ventilation is perfectly circular, which gives rise to particularly perfect rings.
“It’s beautiful,” said Simona Scollo, another volcanologist at the INGV Etna Observatory in Catania, using the Italian word for beautiful.
Last year Scollo co-edited a study on the dynamics of volcanic vortex rings in the journal Scientific reports.
But, he said, the activity doesn’t mean Etna will erupt particularly spectacularly.
“No, no, no,” he said.
During a telephone interview Tuesday, he said the smoke ring’s mechanism was similar to how dolphins blow bubble rings.
“They compress the water in their mouth and, using their tongue, push it out of their mouth and create enough pressure that it forms a ring,” he said.
According to the study, depending on weather conditions, Etna’s rings remain in the air for one to ten minutes.
“If there is turbulence, they break up more quickly,” he said.
Interviewed at The New York Times Last year, Scollo said the study hoped to better understand how volcanoes worked, “not just when they create disaster for people or when they are very dangerous,” but also in calmer times.
The new mouth of the volcano emitted hundreds of rings, but another opening Since last year the volcano has also been spewing rings, albeit more widely spaced.
Record
The phenomenon was recorded for the first time on Etna in 1724followed by periodic sightings, most recently last year, and quite spectacularly in 2000.
According to the description of his registration in 2013 as World Heritage Site by UNESCOEtna is “the highest island mountain in the Mediterranean and the most active stratovolcano in the world”.
“No volcano on Earth produces as many volcanic vortex rings as Etna, we have known this for a long time,” says Behncke.
Etna is not the only volcano where the phenomenon has been recorded.
Several volcanoes around the world have generated volcanic vortex rings, since Momotombo in Nicaragua until Eyjafjallajökulthat spits ash, in Iceland, passing through the Mount Ridotto in Alaska and another active Italian volcano, the Stromboli.
Scollo said activity at the new vent is slowing. And it could end altogether.
“It could stop because the properties of the conduit that allowed these volcanic vortex rings to form could change, perhaps due to blockages,” he said.
Or the amount of gas inside the pipe could decrease, he added.
c.2024 The New York Times Company
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.