Etna update, 5 January 2011

During the afternoon of 4 January 2011 the activity of the pit crater located on the lower eastern flank of the Southeast Crater cone completely ceased, but resumed again during the early morning of 5 January, with very weak emissions of incandescent material (probably mostly hot gas with little or no solid material). The emissions are continuing as of the late forenoon of 5 January, at a frequency of 4-6 events per hour, producing small plumes appearing as minor thermal anomalies in the video footage of the INGV-CT thermal monitoring camera at the Montagnola (EMOT), and puffs of white vapor (sometimes with a little grayish-brown ash) in the video footage of the visible light monitoring camera at the Montagnola (EMOV).