A lot of late deep snow on Etna this morning and active too. Well it had quite a puff of brown ashy stuff a minute ago.

Melts fast though with the strong sun I think.

Been enjoying this clip...

Mount Etna eruptions light up night sky

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-europe-48472188/

Roger

Channel 5 has programme on the threat that Vesuvius poses to Naples this evening at 2100. Not sure whether it has anything new, though.

Is this new? I remember a similar programme a few years ago

Yes I remember that one but I think this is a new programme.

Etna is putting on a show now;

https://www.forbes.com/sites/robinandrews/2019/05/31/mount-etna-is-erupting-right-now-and-its-putting-on-a-spectacular-show/.

30 mins re-hash, 15 mins new, 15 mins ads. There was stuff I'd not seen before on the geology of the Campi Flegrei area and the network of monitoring stations, but the question of how to evacuate Naples prior to an eruption was left hanging. 

Slightly off topic but Pompeii by Robert Harris is a great read. He manages to convey the great heat of that summer and how the eruption progressed and what it would have been like to have experienced such an event.

I was in Naples last Monday and visited Pompeii. Astonishing place.

My understanding (and I also watched a documentary a few months/a year ago) is that the whole Bay of Naples area is a giant Caldera, and the entire area has lifted 2m in the past few years as the magma chamber builds (IIRC, it had only risen 2m in the preceding 60 years)

Oh, and I was on Sicily on Wednesday, a few days before Etna cranked the pyrotechnics back up.

Jealous? Me?

Too right!

Not sure what exactly you're jealous of, but if it's Pompeii, then all I can say is try to do it. It's an amazing place.

And get a good tour guide, as they will make your visit. Ours wasn't great, but still conveyed enough to have me absolutely staggered. The scale of the place was overwhelming enough (it's surprisingly massive), but immerse yourself in the facts (eg, it was buried under 10m - yes, metres - of ash and pumice) and it's simply staggering. It was a 'bucket list' thing for me, and actually surpassed expectations. 

But Naples was a absolute dump. We only drove through it, and some parts might be nice, but if you're going to visit, I'd recommend staying further afield, like in Sorrento or along the Amalfi coast. Or, as we did, visit on a cruise.

Sorrento is nice, we werethere for New Year about 5 years ago, direct coach from Naples airport avoiding the city, Circumvesuviana railway to Pompeii and Herculaneum, buses along the spectacular corniche road to Amalfi.

Glad to hear that you enjoyed Pompeii though when we were there then we felt Herculaneum was even better - the part you can see (most is under the modern town) was less crowded and very well restored whereas restoration of Pompeii seemed to be a matter of putting up scaffolding and a'No entry' sign! The previous boss i/c restoration has however been sacked for diverting funds and the project is now under control of an army man, though.

Off-topic, but 40 years ago we stayed in Naples and then moved on to Palermo. Naples hotelkeeper - You're going to Palermo? But they shoot people in the street!. Palermo hotelkeeper - You've come from Naples? And you haven't been robbed!

Not jealous of Naples but Pompeii and Etna are both on my ‘bucket list’ (along with Yellowstone of course!)

Stromboli very active today and this evening. It seems one person has been killed.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-48857422

I would very much recommend a visit to Naples. So many cities in Europe are almost like open air museums, beautiful but entirely for tourists. Naples is a stunning city but not entirely conquered by tourism. 

30 years ago, stayed in Naples before taking train on to Palermo, not without a thought for the Campi Flegrei in western Naples where the old caldera was heaving up and down by a metre or two. Apparently the upper strata are relatively strong and managed to restrain the magma moving around underneath - for now.

Innkeeper in Naples "Going to Palermo? They shoot people in the street there!"

Innkeeper in Palermo "From Naples? and you haven't been robbed?"

For those who have Sky subscription or Now TV should watch the series "My Brilliant Friend", an HBO production but entirely in the local Neapolitan dialect. Really captures the mood and politics of the post war period, the corruption, mafia influence, patriarchy etc

Another explosion occurred on Stromboli

https://twitter.com/NicoleBremner/status/1166661179122601984.

Interesting piece discussing prediction of a volcanic event:
"Anak Krakatau, the Indonesian island volcano that collapsed last December triggering a huge tsunami, did produce clear warning signals before the event."

Anak Krakatau volcano collapse: 'Warning signs were there'
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-49907007

Roger

Askja has been a little grumpy this week over in Iceland

https://en.vedur.is/earthquakes-and-volcanism/earthquakes/vatnajokull/

Nothing official but I've read differently. The pulsating nature of the swarm is more indicative of magma movements.