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Toward the end of the paroxysmal eruptive episode of 4 March 2012 at Etna's New Southeast Crater, ash emission increased considerably, as the huge lava fountains began to fade, and the eruptive plume rising above the volcano took on strongly contrasting colors. The snow-colored volcano was bathed in the light of the sun shining from a clear blue sky.

Shortly thereafter, the lava fountain died, and the 21st paroxysmal eruptive episode since January 2011 at this crater was over. It had lasted 2 hours, and occurred 24 days after the previous paroxysm. Some slow lava outflow from a new vent that had opened on the southern flank of the cone at the height of the paroxysm continued into the late evening. Now, weather conditions have deteriorated, and for the moment it is not easy to see how the shape of the cone has changed - it is clear that it has grown further on its northern side because that is where the wind blew the loose material (tephra).

While we are still replaying in our minds what we have seen during this spectacular paroxysm, the countdown for the next such event is already running ...

24 days after the relatively mild, though rather long-lasting and beautiful episode of lava fountaining on 9 February 2012, the New Southeast Crater at Etna's summit made a powerful new eruptive episode on the morning of 4 March 2012. During the early hours of the day, the activity - which had been teasing us with tiny, sporadic Strombolian bursts for 18 days - suddenly ramped up, and at 07:30 GMT (= local time -1), the main phase of lava fountaining and formation of an eruption column started. At the height of the activity, small pyroclastic flows formed repeatedly both on the northeastern and southern flanks of the cone, as seen in this view taken from the village of Milo on the eastern flank of Etna at 07:50 GMT.

More to follow ...

In the early morning hours of 4 March 2012, Etna's New Southeast Crater finally started to get going. We are now seeing all the typical signs that it is building up toward a new lava fountaining episode ... the next few hours will once more be The Greatest Show On Earth !!!

Photo taken from my home in Trecastagni, shortly after 05 h GMT on 4 March 2012

Maybe never before we have enjoyed the winter on Etna as we do this year - and now with our little Ida being almost 6 years old, we are able to explore many areas on our volcanic mountain that were sort of off-limits before. Ida is moving on the mountain in an impressive manner, she runs up the hill, she's curious, she's got an explorer's spirit.

This is yours truly with his beloved wife Catherine above the Rifugio (mountain hut) Citelli on Etna's east-northeast flank on 3 March 2012, where we went with one of my closer friends among my colleagues at the INGV-Osservatorio Etneo and his two girls, who are very much friends with Ida. You can see a bit of the striking panorama we enjoyed during the hike, which ended with a long, long descent on sledges and other boards. On the opposite side (the direction we're looking at) was Etna's summit area emitting a conspicuous, dense gas plume, a reminder that we were on one of the most active volcanoes on Earth.

We're living in a sort of paradise, but in everyday life we sometimes rather note the things that Sicily is notorious for - the lack of organisation and of any kind of concept, the tendency of many to throw their garbage in the most beautiful natural spaces (but also right in front of their homes, for that matter) - and so a short voyage out of the so-called "civilization" into the polar volcanic world on Etna's upper slopes is extremely rewarding, and puts everything back into equilibrium.

*The title citation is from "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS (1988), and continues with the line "... but some of us don't know why"

Yours truly and his little girl Ida at home in Trecastagni, near Mount Etna volcano, on 2 March 2012