Europe's most powerful volcano erupts white ring

Italy The gases inside Mount Etna combine with the symmetrical shape of its vent to create unique steam rings that rise into the sky.

Europe's most powerful volcano erupts white ring

Mount Etna erupts with steam ring. Video : Independent

Mount Etna, on the east coast of Sicily, Italy, is Europe's largest and most active volcano, as well as the world's most active stratovolcano. On April 6, the volcano made headlines when it spewed what looked like a ring of white smoke into the sky. Reports suggest a new vent has opened, sending the white steam into the air.

"No volcano on Earth produces as many steam rings as Etna. We've known about this phenomenon for a long time. But now it's breaking all previous records," said Boris Behncke, a volcanologist at the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Catania, Italy.

These rings are harmless and do not necessarily mean an eruption is imminent. They are actually called “volcanic maelstroms,” and are formed from condensed volcanic gases and steam, not smoke.

"They're colorless by themselves, but when they reach the condensation level, they turn white - which is what we're seeing. The reason why the steam rises, condenses rapidly and forms these rings is because of the temperature difference," explains Ana Casas Ramos, a volcanologist at the Australian National University. Ramos says the steam is very hot and when it rises to the right level in the atmosphere, it meets cold air and condenses.

Volcanic whirlpools form in a similar way to a dolphin blowing bubbles underwater or a smoker creating a smoke ring, with the gases slowing down and curling up as they are expelled, according to a study by Simona Scollo of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology of Catania and colleagues last year. The formation of a volcanic whirlpool is largely due to the gases inside the volcano, but the shape of the crater also plays a role.

"The results of the study show that the volcanic vortex is formed by a combination of rapid gas release from bubbles at the top of the magma conduit and the symmetry in the shape of the vent," the authors wrote in the study published in the journal Scientific Reports .

Thu Thao (According to IFL Science )

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