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Mt. Etna is one of the most active volcanoes on Earth that in the past few decades has erupted virtually every year. The current Etnean volcanism results from the interaction between magma ascent in the rather complex plumbing feeding system and the local tectonic regime controlled by the volcano edifice’s eastern flank instability, whose driving conditions (e.g., structural setting, tectonic forces) and cause-effect relationships are not completely understood yet. At the surface, the combination of the two factors produces eruptions along fissures that open on the flanks (e.g., in 2001, 2002-03, 2004-05, 2018) or at the one or more of the four summit craters (e.g., in 2011-‘13; 2015; 2021-‘22). Eruptions might be either strongly explosive (e.g., in 2002; 2011-‘13; 2015; 2021-‘22) or quietly effusive (e.g., in 2004-05). Explosive eruptions have produced volcanic ash plumes, sometime reaching also the stratosphere, that likely disrupt air traffic for hours to weeks (e.g., 5 January 2012), whereas effusive eruptions have fed lava flows capable of invading the populated areas of the volcano edifice, thus threating human property and vital infrastructures. Flank eruptions are often linked to seismic swarms with thousands of earthquakes having maximum magnitude of medium intensity (Mw = 4-5) and local severe damages to artifacts.
During the reporting period, the dynamic of the volcano was dominated by the activity at the summit craters. In particular, more than sixty paroxysmal episodes occurred at the South East Crater (SEC) characterized by lava flows, strombolian explosions, often evolving to lava fountains and forming sustained volcanic plumes. Furthermore, a few very small effusive events occurred in the Valle del Bove.
In this context the scientific production was focused on the analysis and interpretation of EO data related to these events and their effects (e.g. the morphological variation in the summit area). Beside the scientific objective, Mt. Etna Supersite data (both EO and in-situ) were largely used to support the volcano surveillance and the activity of the Italian Civil Protection (both at local and regional level).
During the reporting period, the management of the Etna Supersite suffered from the limitations due to the pandemic COVID-19. Despite that, the working group managed the evolution of the data portal (see Section 3) and the participation to the GEO-GSNL initiative. Furthermore, some focused actions have been activated to encourage the participation of the Mt, Etna Supersite in new national and European projects.