Photomosaic showing a panoramic view of the Voragine as seen from the Northeast Crater on the morning of 8 October 2010. The crater is occupied, in the foreground, by a broad platform, behind which lies an inner depression that has nearly coalesced with the Bocca Nuova, in the center right background. To the left is the cone of the Southeast Crater

South rim of the pit crater located on the lower eastern flank of the Southeast Crater cone, whose sulfur-covered, steaming summit is in the upper left of the image.Person at left indicates scale

Active degassing vent on the floor of the pit crater on the lower eastern flank of the Southeast Crater cone, 8 October 2010. Dark object in lower part of photo is shadow of the arm of the photographer

During the first week of October 2010, the activity of Etna has remained at fairly stable levels.  Deep-seated explosions continued within the deep pit of the Northeast Crater, though with significant fluctuations. The western vent of the Bocca Nuova was the site of a further explosive event at 11.27 (local time = GMT+2) on 7 October, which generated a minor amount of ash. Light ash falls were noted a few tens of minutes later in the Rifugio Sapienza area, at about 1900 m elevation on the south flank. The event was very brief and was not followed by other notable explosions or collapses during the following 24 hours. More or less continuous, sometimes pulsating gas emission occurred from the large collapse pit located on the lower eastern flank of the Southeast Crater cone. At the Voragine no significant activity occurred except for fumarolic activity on its crater rims.

A field visit to Etna’s summit craters during the forenoon of 8 October disclosed low levels of activity – quiet degassing without any audible or visible explosive activity – from the Northeast Crater, the Bocca Nuova, and the Voragine. In contrast, the collapse pit on the lower east flank of the Southeast Crater cone showed vigorous degassing from a vent located on its floor, which had formed during the first half of September. The gas emission occurred in a pulsating manner, and was accompanied by loud hissing noises, sometimes accompanied by low rumbling possibly indicative of deep-seated explosions. The rims and inner walls of the collapse pit continue to be highly unstable, and minor collapses and rockfalls occurred during the visit, generating modest plumes of pinkish ash. No juvenile products were observed outside and within the pit; however its floor was covered with abundant coarse-grained material (mostly meter-sized blocks) that had fallen from the pit walls during recent weeks.

A more detailed report (in Italian) is available here.