Italy's Mount Etna Eruption Closes Airports and 'Knocks Clocks 15 Minutes Fast'

A paroxysmal eruption occurred at SE crater of Mt Etna volcano on 9th July 2011 after a few days of strobolian activity. This is the fifth eruption at Mt Etna in 2011. The eruption was shorter than previous eruptions this year. Weak strombolian activity occurred at SE crater between 4-7 July. Activity stopped on 8th July and resumed on 9th July around midday when lava overflowed the eastern rim of SE crater. At 13:45 UT strombolian eruptions intensified to produce a lava fountain. Ash emissions reached a height of several kilometres and produced lapilli falls in populated areas between Nicolosi and Catania in the south, and Trecastagni, Viagrande and Acireale in the southeast. The paroxysm lasted for one hour and was accompanied by a lava flow which reached the Valle del Bove. During the start of the paroxysm there was an ash explosion from Bocca Nuova. - Volcano Live

Mount Etna Eruption Closes Airports and 'Knocks Clocks 15 Minutes Fast'

Dramatic footage has been released of Mount Etna in Sicily (Italy) blasting out lava and producing a dense ash plume that extended more than two kilometres into the air. Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of activity. Saturday’s Strombolian explosions and lava flows represented the fifth such eruption since the beginning of 2011. - Mount Etna Eruption Forces Airport Closure, World Weather Post, July 10, 2011



An eruption on Mount Etna spewed ash and lava; Mount Etna's latest eruption is the fifth since the beginning of the year; the volcano spewed lava on to its south-eastern slopes and winds swept ash further afield; despite the fearsome scenes, locals were not in danger from the volcano.

July 11, 2011

Daily Mail - An eruption by Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily left a nearby airport closed and ... locals turning up early for work.

The volcano spewed lava on to its south-eastern slopes on Saturday afternoon and winds swept ash further afield, stopping flights at Catania's Fontanarossa airport.

The strong eruption - Etna's fifth since the beginning of the year - was shortlived, but left the airport closed overnight.

Bemused Sicilians, meanwhile, were quick to blame the volcano after thousands noticed that their clocks were running 15 minutes fast. The fast forward time keeping has affected a wide spectrum of digital clocks and watches - from computers through to alarm clocks.

It was spotted when large numbers of locals started turning up for work early, and a Facebook page was organised for those involved to compare notes.

As well as Etna's volcanic activity, users have so far blamed aliens, poltergeists, solar explosions and electrical disturbances caused by underwater cables.

Fontanarossa airport was reopened at 7am local time after seven sweeping machines worked through the night to clear the runway of ash. The cause of the island-wide clock confusion remains unknown.

Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe at 3,295m (10,810ft). The last eruption was in May.

How Many Active Volcanoes are There in the World?

Global Volcanism Program - The answer to this common question depends upon use of the word "active." At least 20 volcanoes will probably be erupting as you read these words (Italy's Stromboli, for example, has been erupting for more than a thousand years); roughly 60 erupted each year through the 1990s; 154 in the full decade 1990-1999; about 550 have had historically documented eruptions; about 1300 (and perhaps more than 1500) have erupted in the Holocene (past 10,000 years); and some estimates of young seafloor volcanoes exceed a million. Because dormant intervals between major eruptions at a single volcano may last hundreds to thousands of years, dwarfing the relatively short historical record in many regions, it is misleading to restrict usage of "active volcano" to recorded human memories: we prefer to add another identifying word (e.g. "historically active" or "Holocene volcano").

Which Volcanoes Were Erupting During 2011?

Global Volcanism Program - There were 48 volcanoes that had confirmed eruptions during this time. For eruptions with a listed start date of 2011, please see the Weekly and Monthly reports for additional details.

Volcano	Country / Location	Eruption Start Date
Grímsvötn	Iceland	2011
Puyehue-Cordón Caulle	Chile	2011
Planchón-Peteroa	Chile	2011
Turrialba	Costa Rica	2011
Telica	Nicaragua	2011
Kliuchevskoi	Russia	2011
Bezymianny	Russia	2011
Aso	Japan	2011
Kirishima	Japan	2011
Karangetang [Api Siau]	Indonesia	2011
Lokon-Empung	Indonesia	2011
Nabro	Eritrea	2011