[John H K]

Really odd that I can't find a mention of this on the standard news sites or wires.

Stromboli of course is the famous volcano that pretty much erupts constantly, and every once in a while erupts more strongly. There have been small tsunamis from avalanches there before, and actually poking around the net searching "Stromboli Tsunami" quite a lot of academic papers detailing the threat. Seems like it actually happened.

[July 4th]

Dec 31, 2002

ROME, Italy (AP) -- Gas burst from the tiny volcanic island of Stromboli in southern Italy on Monday, prompting a landslide and a wave of water that injured at least six people, officials said.

Damage was not thought to be severe. Civil Defence and firefighting officials were heading to the island to assess what happened, and could offer few details on the nature of the volcanic activity.

At least five people suffered light injuries, while one other person suffered a more serious back injury, said emergency-room chief Dr. Gustavo Rizzo at a hospital in Messina, Sicily, where some of the injured were being sent.

Stromboli, which is 60 kilometres (40 miles) north of Sicily, is noted for frequent minor eruptions, and attracts tourists keen to see the flow of lava inching down the side of the volcano. It is part of the volcanic Aeolian archipelago, and has a population of only a few hundred people.

Firefighters heading to the volcano said a heavy burst of gas was emitted from the crater of the volcano. This caused a landslide, while a wave of water gushed into the tiny settlement of Ginostra.

Local dockworker Vincenzo Merlino, 55, was at home relaxing at the time.

"All of a sudden, as I was calmly smoking my pipe, I heard a small noise and went down to the end of the garden," he said by phone from Stromboli. "I saw the tide pull back, then return with five- or six-metre waves."

He did not see any major damage, although a few boats were washed away.

Civil Defence officials flew over the island in helicopters to try to assess the cause and extent of the damage.

Stromboli is not the only active volcano in southern Italy, with Mt. Etna in Sicily coming to life in October, causing lava to pour down the mountain for several weeks.

[blam]

I saw it on the BBC earlier today. The volcano was the big story with the tsunami contained within that article.

[Willie Green]

Tsunami Strikes Italy

The Euroweenies are sure to be upset about this.
No doubt the Japanese are gonna have to pay reparations under WTO agreements.

[blam]

Monday, 30 December, 2002, 19:38 GMT, BBC

Italian volcano flexes its muscles

Stromboli is one of the most active volcanoes in Europe

A volcano has erupted off Italy's Sicilian coast injuring at least six people and bringing chaos to the surrounding area.
A burst of gas from the tiny volcanic island which is home to the Stromboli volcano sent a mass of rock into the sea, causing a tidal wave.

I saw the sun obscured by a cloud of lava ashes and a wave which was at least 20 metres high

Eyewitness

Water overturned boats and flooded the village of Ginostra injuring at least six people, one of them seriously.

More eruptions are expected although they are not believed to pose an immediate danger to the island's few hundred inhabitants.

Scared residents were temporarily evacuated by the Italian navy as a precaution.

"I saw the sun obscured by a cloud of lava ashes and a wave which was at least 20 metres high," an eyewitness told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

"There were other people on the beach, it was a miracle that the sea did not carry them away."

The eruption could be seen from neighbouring islands.

According to La Repubblica, the tidal wave started by Stromboli reached the northern coast of Sicily.

It displaced two boats being loaded with fuel causing an oil spill into the sea. The spill is said to be under control.

Tourist attraction

Situated on an island of the same name in the Lipari archipelago 60 kilometres (40 miles) north-east of Sicily, the Stromboli volcano is known for its frequent minor eruptions.

The volcano is considered to be one of the most active in Europe. Its flow of lava, which slowly slides down the mountainside into the sea, is a tourist attraction.

Vulcanologists are expected to monitor the Stromboli closely, but some predicted renewed activity a month ago.

Stromboli's activity followed the eruption of Sicily's Mount Etna two weeks ago when at least 15 people were injured and around 1,000 evacuated.

[jdontom]

[FreedomFarmer]

"Stromboli bin Tsunami"

Volcano of Peace©.

[tubebender]

Heres one for you...

[StopGlobalWhining]

Will the release of these Satanic "gases" (including a heavy concentration of CO2) be counted against Italy's Kyoto quota?

---

Lethal Italian Carbon Dioxide Springs Key to Atmospheric CO₂ Levels

December 16, 1996, Penn State Science News Services

San Francisco, Calif. -- The often lethal carbon dioxide springs that dot central and south-central Italy, may hold the key to understanding current and ancient levels of this greenhouse gas, according to Penn State geoscientists.

"Generally, when researchers compute total non-anthropogenic carbon dioxide flux, non-volcanic sources such as central and south-central Italy are ignored," says Dr. Derrill Kerrick, professor of geoscience. "However, the contribution from areas like Italy can be quite sizable."

Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contributes to greenhouse warming and climate change. Volcanoes have long been thought the major contributor of carbon dioxide, but there are large areas with vents expelling non-volcanic carbon dioxide in Italy, California and other places. While volcanoes produce the gas from magma, the carbon dioxide vents in Italy are expelling gas generated at depth from metamorphism of rocks that were formed by marine organisms and are composed of calcium carbonate.

The 200-mile area of Italy between Florence and Naples produces an enormous amount of carbon dioxide, yet no one has tried to measure the amount before, the researchers told attendees today (Dec. 17) at the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco. We don't have a sense of how much is going into the atmosphere, they said.

"People have known about these springs for a long time," says John D. Rogie, graduate student in geosciences. "At Acqua Terme, the boiling water and carbon dioxide geyser is encased in glass and is part of a spa resort." In one location, the researchers note, a spring has been cased and tapped to supply carbon dioxide to a Coca Cola bottling plant.

"These sites are locally known, but not generally publicized outside of Italy," says Kerrick. "Some produce virtually 100 percent carbon dioxide and are quite lethal. The area around such vents is typically littered with animal carcasses and people have died in these areas." One reason these places are so lethal is that carbon dioxide is invisible and heavier than air. The gas sits on the ground and flows to low areas. Animals and humans caught in these areas can be killed before they have time to leave.

Kerrick and Rogie are working with a team of Italian scientists including G. Chiodini and F. Frondini from the Dipartmento Scienza Della Terra, University of Perugia;

Franceso Parello of the University of Palermo and Angelo Minissale of the University of Florence. The Italians already have a home-made device for measuring the flow of carbon dioxide from vents and the researchers have made a variety of devices to measure the diffuse degassing through the soil.

"We estimate that there are between 150 and 200 carbon dioxide vents in this area of Italy," says Kerrick. "One vent east of Naples emits over 200 tons of carbon dioxide per day."

The researchers note that emissions from some vents are equivalent to that of some volcanoes. The flux from the vent east of Naples is equivalent to the combined crater and diffuse flux from Vulcano, a volcanic island near Sicily.

When looking at diffuse degassing, the researchers found one area that measured less than a tenth of a square mile, yet emits 150 tons of carbon dioxide per day.

The researchers note that Mt. Etna, a volcano which produces 35,000 tons of carbon dioxide per day and is the largest single source of natural carbon dioxide in the world, is located in this area of Italy. Unlike many other volcanoes, Etna is not in an area where tectonic plates meet.

Assuming that most carbon dioxide in the past came from areas of subduction vulcanism may not be the way to model carbon dioxide production, according to the researchers. There is a great deal of gas coming from carbon dioxide vents and the area around these vents that must be taken into consideration.

EDITORS:
Dr. Kerrick may be reached at (814) 865-7574.

[aught-6]

"detached only by gravitational instability"

LOL interesting choice of words.