A message from the ‘underground forge of the gods’: history and current eruptions at Mt Etna

Abstract

Mt Etna has made headlines over the last weeks and months with spectacular eruptions, some of them highly explosive. This type of paroxysmal eruptive behaviour is characteristic of Etna's activity over the past few decades and so it is no surprise that Etna is among the most active volcanoes worldwide. Etna is well‐known for its extraordinary geology and due to its repeated eruptive activity it provides a continuous supply of new scientific opportunities to understand the inner workings of large basaltic volcanic systems. In addition to its scientific value, Etna is also a world famous tourist attraction and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013 for its geological and cultural value and not least for its fine agricultural products. Etna's status as an iconic volcano is not a recent phenomenon; in fact, Etna has been a literary fixture for at least 3000 years, giving rise to many ancient myths and legends that mark it as a special place, deserving of human respect. From the ancient eruptions to the latest events in February–April 2021, people try to explain and understand the processes that occur within and beneath the volcano. In this article, we briefly summarize the recent eruptive activity of Etna as well as the ancient myths and legends that surround this volcano, from the underground forge of Hephaestus to the adventures of Odysseus, all the way to the benefits and dangers the volcano provides to those living on its flanks today.

Nature of Paleozoic Basement of the Catalan Coastal Ranges (Spain) and Tectonic Setting of the Priorat DOQ Wine Terroir: Evidence from Volcanic and Sedimentary Rocks

“…Some of the most exciting and noteworthy wines grow in the vicinity of prominent Quaternary volcanoes (Vesuvius, Etna, Roccamonfina, Mount Hood, Lassen Peak, Monte Vulture) or are associated with ancient volcanic soils and terranes derived from the volcanoes of the distant geologic past [28][29][30][31]. These volcanic terroirs occur within different tectonic regimes, ranging from within-plate oceanic island volcanoes (Azores, Canary Islands) to leaky transform faults (Etna), continental flood basalt provinces (Columbia River, Walla Walla, Snake River Plain), continental grabens and rifts (Rhine and Mosel) and to modern volcanoes (Vesuvius, Lassen Peak, Ararat, Aragatz, Aeolian Islands, Santorini) and paleo-volcanic terranes (Willamette Valley, Napa, Andean volcanic belt) of Phanerozoic subduction zones [7,9,16,25,28,30,32,33]. We present in this paper new results on the mineralogy and geochemistry of Paleozoic black shale and associated volcanic rocks from the Priorat DOQ (Denominació d'Origen Qualificada) region in the Catalan Coastal Ranges (CCR) of NE Spain, with implications for the general nature of the CCR's Paleozoic basement and tectonic setting of volcanic wine terroirs.…”

Fire risk: an integrated modelling approach

“…The case study was carried out on the island of Sicily, the largest and most populated island in the Mediterranean. Within its 2,571 ha, the altitudinal range reaches 3,357 m at the peak of one of the most active volcanoes in the world (Thomaidis et al, 2021). The island has a Mediterranean climate with mild and wet winters and dry and hot summers, highlighting the southwest coast, where the climate is affected by the African currents and summers.…”