This is an accepted version of this page
93-646: GOES-3 , known as GOES-C before becoming operational, was an American geostationary weather and communications satellite . It was originally built for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as part of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite system, and was launched in June 1978. It was positioned in geostationary orbit , from where it was initially used for weather forecasting in
186-567: A BBC News television crew, after magma exploded upon contact with snow. An eruption on 24 December 2018, following a dyke intrusion at shallow depth, spewed ash into the air, forcing the closure of airspace around Mount Etna. Two days later, a magnitude 4.9 earthquake shook the town of Fleri and surrounding towns and hamlets in the Province of Catania, damaging buildings and injuring four people. Beginning in February 2021, Mount Etna began
279-421: A huge tsunami , which left its mark in several places in the eastern Mediterranean . The steep walls of the valley have suffered subsequent collapses on numerous occasions. The strata exposed in the valley walls provide an important and easily accessible record of Etna's eruptive history. The most recent collapse event at the summit of Etna is thought to have occurred about 2,000 years ago, forming what
372-687: A mass of 627 kilograms (1,382 lb). GOES-C was launched using a Delta 2914 carrier rocket flying from Launch Complex 17B at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station . The launch occurred at 10:49 GMT (5:49 a.m. local time) on 16 June 1978, just two minutes short of a year after the previous satellite, GOES-2 . The launch successfully placed GOES-C into a geostationary transfer orbit , from which it raised itself to geostationary orbit using an onboard SVM-5 apogee motor. Its insertion into geosynchronous orbit occurred at 03:22 on 17 June. GOES-C underwent on-orbit testing, and
465-587: A more intense storm). Infrared pictures depict ocean eddies or vortices and map currents such as the Gulf Stream which are valuable to the shipping industry. Fishermen and farmers are interested in knowing land and water temperatures to protect their crops against frost or increase their catch from the sea. Even El Niño phenomena can be spotted. Using color-digitized techniques, the gray shaded thermal images can be converted to color for easier identification of desired information. Each meteorological satellite
558-777: A much better resolution than their geostationary counterparts due their closeness to the Earth. The United States has the NOAA series of polar orbiting meteorological satellites, presently NOAA-15, NOAA-18 and NOAA-19 ( POES ) and NOAA-20 and NOAA-21 ( JPSS ). Europe has the Metop -A, Metop -B and Metop -C satellites operated by EUMETSAT . Russia has the Meteor and RESURS series of satellites. China has FY -3A, 3B and 3C. India has polar orbiting satellites as well. The United States Department of Defense 's Meteorological Satellite ( DMSP ) can "see"
651-610: A new artificial channel, far from Zafferana, and it would have taken months to re-establish a long lava tube. Shortly after the blasting, the rate of lava emission dropped, and during the remainder of the eruption (until 30 March 1993) the lava never advanced close to the town again. Following six years (1995–2001) of unusually intense activity at the four summit craters of Etna, the volcano produced its first flank eruption since 1991–1993 in July–August 2001. This eruption, which involved activity from seven distinct eruptive fissures mostly on
744-447: A number of changes over its predecessors in support of its mission to gather data for weather forecasting and climate monitoring. The MTG satellites are three-axis stabilised rather than spin stabilised, giving greater flexibility in satellite and instrument design. The MTG system features separate Imager and Sounder satellite models that share the same satellite bus, with a baseline of three satellites - two Imagers and one Sounder - forming
837-723: A scatterometer and a radio-occultation instrument. The satellite service module is based on the SPOT-5 bus, while the payload suite is a combination of new and heritage instruments from both Europe and the US under the Initial Joint Polar System agreement between EUMETSAT and NOAA. A second generation of Metop satellites ( MetOp-SG ) is in advanced development with launch of the first satellite foreseen in 2025. As with MTG, Metop-SG will launch on Ariane-6 and comprise two satellite models to be operated in pairs in replacement of
930-524: A second imager satellite will operate from 9.5-deg East to perform a Rapid Scanning mission over Europe. MTG continues Meteosat support to the ARGOS and Search and Rescue missions. MTG-I1 launched in one of the last Ariane-5 launches, with the subsequent satellites planned to launch in Ariane-6 when it enters service. In 2006, the first European low-Earth orbit operational meteorological satellite, Metop -A
1023-498: A series of explosive eruptions, which have had an impact on nearby villages and cities, with volcanic ash and rock falling as far away as Catania. As of 12 March 2021 , the volcano has erupted 11 times in three weeks. The eruptions have consistently sent ash clouds over 10 km (33,000 ft) into the air, closing Sicilian airports. There have been no reports of injuries. In February 2022 there were two eruptions. On 11 February 2022, at 6 pm, there were lava fountains from
SECTION 10
#17327723393401116-415: A slowly diminishing rate for 417 days, until 6 July 2009, making this the longest flank eruption of Etna since the 1991–1993 eruption that lasted 473 days. Previous eruptions, in 2001, 2002–2003, and 2004–2005 had lasted 3 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months, respectively. Lava flows advanced 6.5 km during the first few days of this eruption but thereafter stagnated at many minor distances from the vents; during
1209-506: A trained analyst to determine cloud heights and types, to calculate land and surface water temperatures, and to locate ocean surface features. Infrared satellite imagery can be used effectively for tropical cyclones with a visible eye pattern, using the Dvorak technique , where the difference between the temperature of the warm eye and the surrounding cold cloud tops can be used to determine its intensity (colder cloud tops generally indicate
1302-462: A valuable asset in such situations. Nighttime photos also show the burn-off in gas and oil fields. Atmospheric temperature and moisture profiles have been taken by weather satellites since 1969. Not all weather satellites are direct imagers . Some satellites are sounders that take measurements of a single pixel at a time. They have no horizontal spatial resolution but often are capable or resolving vertical atmospheric layers . Soundings along
1395-480: A vent on the eastern side of the Southeast Crater in mid-August 2007. On 4 September 2007, a major episode of lava fountaining occurred from the new vent on the east side of the Southeast Crater, also producing a plume of ash and scoriae which fell over the east flank of the volcano. A lava flow travelled about 4.5 km (2.8 mi) into the uninhabited Valle del Bove. This eruption was visible far into
1488-535: A zone known as Ripe della Naca. The village of Mascali , lying down-slope of the Ripe della Naca, was almost completely destroyed in two days. Only a church and a few surrounding buildings survived in the north part of the village, called Sant'Antonino or "il quartiere". During the last days of the eruption, the flow interrupted the Messina-Catania railway line and destroyed the train station of Mascali. The event
1581-407: Is Morgan le Fay, the rich underworld queendom of which she is the mistress is accessed not through a fiery grotto on the slopes of Etna, but through a 'fountain' (i.e., a spring ) – a circumstance more in keeping with Morgan's original watery, rather than fiery, associations, before her incorporation into the folklore of Sicily. Another Sicilian conception of the fairy realm or castle of Morgan le Fay
1674-846: Is an active stratovolcano on the east coast of Sicily , Italy , in the Metropolitan City of Catania , between the cities of Messina and Catania . It is located above the convergent plate margin between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate . It is one of the tallest active volcanoes in Europe , and the tallest peak in Italy south of the Alps with a current height (September 2024) of 3,403 m (11,165 ft), though this varies with summit eruptions. For instance, in 2021
1767-518: Is classified in accordance with ITU Radio Regulations (article 1) as follows: Fixed service (article 1.20) The allocation of radio frequencies is provided according to Article 5 of the ITU Radio Regulations (edition 2012). In order to improve harmonisation in spectrum utilisation, the majority of service-allocations stipulated in this document were incorporated in national Tables of Frequency Allocations and Utilisations which
1860-697: Is confusion between this eruption and an earthquake that devastated southeast Sicily (including Catania) 24 years later in 1693 . A study on the damage and fatalities caused by eruptions of Etna in historical times reveals that only 77 human deaths are attributable with certainty to eruptions of Etna, most recently in 1987 when two tourists were killed by a sudden explosion near the summit. Since 1750, seven of Etna's eruptions have had durations of more than 5 years, more than any other volcano except Vesuvius. As "Europe's most active volcano", eruptions occur frequently (with as many as 16 eruptions taking place in 2001). However, several eruptions of note have occurred over
1953-446: Is designed to use one of two different classes of orbit: geostationary and polar orbiting . Geostationary weather satellites orbit the Earth above the equator at altitudes of 35,880 km (22,300 miles). Because of this orbit , they remain stationary with respect to the rotating Earth and thus can record or transmit images of the entire hemisphere below continuously with their visible-light and infrared sensors. The news media use
SECTION 20
#17327723393402046-588: Is known as the Piano Caldera. This caldera has been almost entirely filled by subsequent lava eruptions but is still visible as a distinct break in the slope of the mountain near the base of the present-day summit cone. Mount Etna is moving towards the Mediterranean Sea at an average rate of 14 mm (0.55 in) per year, the massif sliding on an unconsolidated layer above the older sloping terrain. The first known record of eruption at Etna
2139-554: Is that of Diodorus Siculus . In 396 BCE, an eruption of Etna reportedly thwarted the Carthaginians in their attempt to advance on Syracuse during the Second Sicilian War . A particularly violent explosive ( Plinian ) summit eruption occurred in 122 BCE, and caused heavy tephra falls to the southeast, including the town of Catania , where many roofs collapsed. To help with reconstruction after
2232-541: Is that the name is derived from the Phoenician word attuna meaning 'furnace' or 'chimney'. In Classical Greek , it is called Αἴτνη ( Aítnē ), a name given also to Catania and the city originally known as Inessa . In Latin it is called Aetna . In Arabic , it is called Jabal al-Nār ( جبل النار , 'the Mountain of Fire'). According to both Roman and Greek mythology, Vulcan / Hephaestus ,
2325-892: Is the Fata Morgana , an optical phenomenon common in the Strait of Messina . Eruptions of Etna follow multiple patterns. Most occur at the summit, where there are five distinct craters: the Northeast Crater, the Voragine, the Bocca Nuova, and two at the Southeast Crater Complex. Other eruptions occur on the flanks, which have more than 300 vents ranging in size from small holes in the ground to large craters hundreds of metres across. Summit eruptions can be highly explosive and spectacular but rarely threaten
2418-411: Is what has given humanity the capability to make accurate and preemptive space weather forecasts since the late 2010s. In Europe, the first Meteosat geostationary operational meteorological satellite, Meteosat-1, was launched in 1977 on a Delta launch vehicle. The satellite was a spin-stabilised cylindrical design, 2.1 m in diameter and 3.2 m tall, rotating at approx. 100 rpm and carrying
2511-422: Is with-in the responsibility of the appropriate national administration. The allocation might be primary, secondary, exclusive, and shared. Mount Etna Mount Etna , or simply Etna ( Italian : Etna [ˈɛtna] or Mongibello [mondʒiˈbɛllo] ; Sicilian : Muncibbeḍḍu [mʊntʃɪbˈbɛɖɖʊ] or 'a Muntagna ; Latin : Aetna ; Ancient Greek : Αἴτνα and Αἴτνη ),
2604-550: The COSPAS-SARSAT Search and Rescue (SAR) and ARGOS Data Collection Platform (DCP) missions. SEVIRI provided an increased number of spectral channels over MVIRI and imaged the full-Earth disc at double the rate. Meteosat-9 was launched to complement Meteosat-8 in 2005, with the second pair consisting of Meteosat-10 and Meteosat-11 launched in 2012 and 2015, respectively. The Meteosat Third Generation (MTG) programme launched its first satellite in 2022, and featured
2697-743: The Canary Islands surpasses it in the whole of the European–North-African region west of the Black Sea. In Greek mythology , the deadly monster Typhon was trapped under this mountain by Zeus , the god of the sky and thunder and king of gods, and the forges of Hephaestus were said also to be underneath it. Mount Etna is one of the world's most active volcanoes and is in an almost constant state of activity. The fertile volcanic soils produced from this activity support extensive agriculture , with vineyards and orchards spread across
2790-592: The European Commission 's Copernicus programme and fulfils the Sentinel-4 mission to monitor air quality, trace gases and aerosols over Europe hourly at high spatial resolution. Two MTG satellites - one Imager and one Sounder - will operate in close proximity from the 0-deg geostationary location over western Africa to observe the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa and the Middle East, while
2883-995: The Meteosat Visible and Infrared Imager (MVIRI) instrument. Successive Meteosat first generation satellites were launched, on European Ariane-4 launchers from Kourou in French Guyana, up to and including Meteosat-7 which acquired data from 1997 until 2017, operated initially by the European Space Agency and later by the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT). Japan has launched nine Himawari satellites beginning in 1977. Starting in 1988 China has launched twenty-one Fengyun satellites. The Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) satellites - also spin stabilised although physically larger and twice
GOES 3 - Misplaced Pages Continue
2976-532: The solar radiation balance of the tropics. Other dust storms in Asia and mainland China are common and easy to spot and monitor, with recent examples of dust moving across the Pacific Ocean and reaching North America. In remote areas of the world with few local observers, fires could rage out of control for days or even weeks and consume huge areas before authorities are alerted. Weather satellites can be
3069-444: The watersheds of the western United States. This information is gleaned from existing satellites of all agencies of the U.S. government (in addition to local, on-the-ground measurements). Ice floes, packs, and bergs can also be located and tracked from weather spacecraft. Even pollution whether it is nature-made or human-made can be pinpointed. The visual and infrared photos show effects of pollution from their respective areas over
3162-537: The 1962 Defense Satellite Applications Program (DSAP) and the 1964 Soviet Meteor series . TIROS paved the way for the Nimbus program , whose technology and findings are the heritage of most of the Earth-observing satellites NASA and NOAA have launched since then. Beginning with the Nimbus 3 satellite in 1969, temperature information through the tropospheric column began to be retrieved by satellites from
3255-517: The 1970s Etna erupted vortex rings , one of the first recorded events of this type, which are extremely rare. This happened again in 2000. Video footage of 8 June 2000 event was captured. Another event occurred on 11 April 2013. Other similar events occurred during the summer of 2023 (see photo) and 2024. The borders of ten municipalities ( Adrano , Biancavilla , Belpasso , Bronte (from two sides), Castiglione di Sicilia , Maletto , Nicolosi , Randazzo , Sant'Alfio , Zafferana Etnea ) meet on
3348-487: The 1983 eruption; it has now been rebuilt. Following a slow and non-destructive lava outflow on the upper southeastern flank between September 2004 and March 2005, intense eruptions occurred at the Southeast Crater in July–December 2006. These were followed by four episodes of lava fountaining, again at the Southeast Crater, on 29 March, 11 April, 29 April and 7 May 2007. Ash emissions and Strombolian explosions started from
3441-505: The 20th century. Since 2000, Etna has had four flank eruptions – in 2001, 2002–2003, 2004–2005, and 2008–2009. Summit eruptions occurred in 2006, 2007–2008, January–April 2012, in July–October 2012, December 2018, and again in February 2021. Volcanic activity first took place at Etna about 500,000 years ago, with eruptions occurring beneath the sea off the ancient coastline of Sicily. About 300,000 years ago, volcanism began occurring to
3534-446: The Earth at a typical altitude of 850 km (530 miles) in a north to south (or vice versa) path, passing over the poles in their continuous flight. Polar orbiting weather satellites are in sun-synchronous orbits , which means they are able to observe any place on Earth and will view every location twice each day with the same general lighting conditions due to the near-constant local solar time . Polar orbiting weather satellites offer
3627-535: The Etna Observatory (built in the late 19th century), destroyed the first generation of the Etna cable-car, and seriously threatened several small villages on Etna's east flank. In March 1981, the town of Randazzo on the northwestern flank of Etna narrowly escaped destruction by unusually fast-moving lava flows. That eruption was remarkably similar to one in 1928 that destroyed Mascali. The 1991–1993 eruption saw
3720-835: The Indian Ocean. The Japanese have the MTSAT -2 located over the mid Pacific at 145°E and the Himawari 8 at 140°E. The Europeans have four in operation, Meteosat -8 (3.5°W) and Meteosat-9 (0°) over the Atlantic Ocean and have Meteosat-6 (63°E) and Meteosat-7 (57.5°E) over the Indian Ocean. China currently has four Fengyun (风云) geostationary satellites (FY-2E at 86.5°E, FY-2F at 123.5°E, FY-2G at 105°E and FY-4A at 104.5 °E) operated. India also operates geostationary satellites called INSAT which carry instruments for meteorological purposes. Polar orbiting weather satellites circle
3813-663: The Latin phrase in monte Gyber ('within Etna') to describe the location of Arthur's kingdom. The Fada de Gibel of the Castle of Gibaldar (Fairy of Etna) appears in Jaufre , the only surviving Arthurian romance in the Occitan language , the composition of which is dated to between 1180 and 1230. However, in Jaufre , while it is clear from her name that the fairy queen in question
GOES 3 - Misplaced Pages Continue
3906-425: The Southeast Crater which became a single Strombolian eruption by 7 pm. Between 10 and 11 pm it had reached a height of almost 1,000 m and lava bombs were thrown at a considerable distance. Ash was blown west by the wind and then turned southeast. There was large lava flow in the western flank. On 19 February at 10.15 am there was an explosive eruption, again from the Southeast Crater, high lava fountains and lava flows,
3999-529: The U.S., Europe, India, China, Russia, and Japan provide nearly continuous observations for a global weather watch. As early as 1946, the idea of cameras in orbit to observe the weather was being developed. This was due to sparse data observation coverage and the expense of using cloud cameras on rockets. By 1958, the early prototypes for TIROS and Vanguard (developed by the Army Signal Corps ) were created. The first weather satellite, Vanguard 2 ,
4092-659: The US National Science Foundation , who used it for communications with the Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station ; and the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science . Weather satellite A weather satellite or meteorological satellite is a type of Earth observation satellite that is primarily used to monitor the weather and climate of the Earth. Satellites can be polar orbiting (covering
4185-645: The United States. After ceasing to function as a weather satellite in 1989, it was used as a communications satellite, and spent over thirty-eight years in operation. GOES-3 was decommissioned 29 June 2016 at the Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing facility in Miami , Florida. GOES-3 was built by Ford Aerospace , and was based on the satellite bus developed for the SMS programme. At launch it had
4278-591: The best of all weather vehicles with its ability to detect objects almost as 'small' as a huge oil tanker . In addition, of all the weather satellites in orbit, only DMSP can "see" at night in the visual. Some of the most spectacular photos have been recorded by the night visual sensor; city lights, volcanoes , fires, lightning, meteors , oil field burn-offs, as well as the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis have been captured by this 720 kilometres (450 mi) high space vehicle's low moonlight sensor. At
4371-583: The crater area at 2,920 m is accessible. Ferrovia Circumetnea – Round-Etna railway – is a narrow-gauge railway constructed between 1889 and 1895. It runs around the volcano in a 110-km long semi-circle starting in Catania and ending in Riposto 28 km north of Catania. There are two ski resorts on Etna: one at the Sapienza Refuge, with a chairlift and three ski lifts, and a smaller one on
4464-521: The devastating effects of the eruption, the Roman government exempted the population of Catania from paying taxes for ten years. The Roman poet Virgil gave what was probably a first-hand description of an eruption in the Aeneid . During the first 1500 years CE, many eruptions went unrecorded (or records have been lost); among the more significant are: (1) an eruption in about 1030 CE near Monte Ilice on
4557-578: The eastern Atlantic and most of the Pacific Ocean, which led to significant improvements to weather forecasts . The ESSA and NOAA polar orbiting satellites followed suit from the late 1960s onward. Geostationary satellites followed, beginning with the ATS and SMS series in the late 1960s and early 1970s, then continuing with the GOES series from the 1970s onward. Polar orbiting satellites such as QuikScat and TRMM began to relay wind information near
4650-553: The entire Earth asynchronously), or geostationary (hovering over the same spot on the equator ). While primarily used to detect the development and movement of storm systems and other cloud patterns, meteorological satellites can also detect other phenomena such as city lights, fires, effects of pollution, auroras , sand and dust storms , snow cover, ice mapping, boundaries of ocean currents , and energy flows. Other types of environmental information are collected using weather satellites. Weather satellite images helped in monitoring
4743-705: The entire earth. Aircraft and rocket pollution, as well as condensation trails , can also be spotted. The ocean current and low level wind information gleaned from the space photos can help predict oceanic oil spill coverage and movement. Almost every summer, sand and dust from the Sahara Desert in Africa drifts across the equatorial regions of the Atlantic Ocean. GOES-EAST photos enable meteorologists to observe, track and forecast this sand cloud. In addition to reducing visibilities and causing respiratory problems, sand clouds suppress hurricane formation by modifying
SECTION 50
#17327723393404836-400: The eruption continued, and lava surmounted the barriers, heading directly toward Zafferana. Engineers then decided to use explosives near the source of the lava flow, to disrupt a very efficient lava tube system through which the lava travelled for up to 7 km (4 mi) without losing significant heat or fluidity. The main explosion on 23 May 1992 destroyed the tube and forced the lava into
4929-528: The fire'), one of the Latin names of the god Vulcan. Today, the name Mongibello is used for the area of Mount Etna containing the two central craters , and the craters located southeast and northeast of the volcanic cone . The name Mongibel is found in Arthurian Romance , as the name of the otherworld castle (or realm) of Morgan le Fay and her half-brother, King Arthur , localised at Etna, according to traditions concerning them derived from
5022-405: The following days, with an ash plume that reached 7 km (23,000 ft) in height that forced Catania airport to shut down for a few hours. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured by a multi-component gas analyzer system , which detects pre-eruptive degassing of rising magmas, improving prediction of volcanic activity . An eruption on 16 March 2017 injured 10 people, including
5115-505: The geostationary photos in their daily weather presentation as single images or made into movie loops. These are also available on the city forecast pages of www.noaa.gov (example Dallas, TX). Several geostationary meteorological spacecraft are in operation. The United States' GOES series has three in operation: GOES-15 , GOES-16 and GOES-17 . GOES-16 and-17 remain stationary over the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, respectively. GOES-15
5208-695: The god of blacksmithing, had his forge under mount Etna. The volcano is also known as Muncibbeḍḍu in Sicilian and Mongibello in Italian, generally regarded as deriving from the Romance word monte / munti plus the Arabic word jabal ( جبل ), both meaning 'mountain'. According to another hypothesis, the term comes from the Latin Mulciber ( qui ignem mulcet , 'he who placates
5301-404: The inhabited areas around the volcano. In contrast, flank eruptions can occur down to a few hundred metres altitude , close to or even well within inhabited areas. Numerous villages and small towns lie around or on cones of past flank eruptions. Since the year AD 1600, at least 60 flank eruptions and countless summit eruptions have occurred; nearly half of these have happened since the start of
5394-553: The last century. A major eruption took place in June 1923, lasting from 6 June until 29 June. A large lava flow from an eruption in 1928 led to the destruction of a population centre for the first time since the 1669 eruption. The eruption started high on Etna's northeast flank on 2 November. Then new eruptive fissures opened at decreasing elevations down the flank of the volcano. The third and most vigorous of these fissures opened late on 4 November at an unusually low elevation, approximately 1,200 m (3,937 ft) above sea-level, in
5487-399: The last months of the eruption lava rarely advanced more than 1 km downslope. Through January 2011 to February 2012, the summit craters of Etna were the site of intense activity. Frequent eruptions and ash columns forced the authorities to shut down the Catania airport on several occasions. The July 2011 episode also endangered the Sapienza Refuge, the main tourist hub on the volcano, but
5580-463: The lava flow was successfully diverted. In 2014, a flank eruption started involving lava flows and strombolian eruptions. This was the first flank eruption since 2008–09. On 3 December 2015, an eruption occurred which climaxed between 03:20 and 04:10 local time. The Voragine crater exhibited a lava fountain which reached 1 km (3,300 ft) in height, with an ash plume which reached 3 km (9,800 ft) in height. The activity continued on
5673-556: The longest of which went down the north-eastern flank towards the Bove Valley. On 29 May 2022 a sudden collapse of the Southeast Crater created a fracture on its northern flank at an elevation of circa 2,800 m (9,186 ft). A small lava flow emerged and headed in the direction of the Leone Valley, just above the much larger Bove Valley. It continued for three days and was accompanied by small and sporadic eruptions from two of
SECTION 60
#17327723393405766-549: The lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Due to its history of recent activity and nearby population, Mount Etna has been designated a Decade Volcano by the United Nations . In June 2013, it was added to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites . One view is that the word Etna is from the Greek αἴθω ( aíthō ), meaning "I burn", through an iotacist pronunciation . Another view
5859-425: The lower southeast flank, which produced a lava flow that travelled about 10 km, reaching the sea north of Acireale; the villages of Santa Tecla and Stazzo are built on the broad delta built by this lava flow into the sea; (2) an eruption in about 1160 (or 1224), from a fissure at only 350–450 m (1,148–1,476 ft) elevation on the south-southeast flank near the village of Mascalucia, whose lava flow reached
5952-554: The many vents at the top of this crater. Etna erupted once again on 4 July 2024 causing the Catania Airport to close due to volcanic ash in the air. The airport reopened the next day. On August 14, 2024, Mt. Etna erupted violently sending an ash cloud 9.5km into the atmosphere. Catania Airport was forced to close the following day. The Global Volcanism Program has assigned a Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI) to all of Mount Etna's eruptions since January 1955: In
6045-666: The mass of the first generation - were developed by ESA with European industry and in cooperation with EUMETSAT who then operate the satellites from their headquarters in Darmstadt, Germany with this same approach followed for all subsequent European meteorological satellites. Meteosat-8 , the first MSG satellite, was launched in 2002 on an Ariane-5 launcher, carrying the Spinning Enhanced Visible and Infrared Imager (SEVIRI) and Geostationary Earth Radiation Budget (GERB) instruments, along with payloads to support
6138-448: The most dramatic photos showed the 600 Kuwaiti oil fires that the fleeing Army of Iraq started on February 23, 1991. The night photos showed huge flashes, far outstripping the glow of large populated areas. The fires consumed huge quantities of oil; the last was doused on November 6, 1991. Snowfield monitoring, especially in the Sierra Nevada , can be helpful to the hydrologist keeping track of available snowpack for runoff vital to
6231-417: The north. Thousands of years ago, the eastern flank of the mountain experienced a catastrophic collapse, generating an enormous landslide in an event similar to that seen in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens . The landslide left a large depression in the side of the volcano, known as 'Valle del Bove' (Valley of the Ox). Research published in 2006 suggested this occurred around 8,000 years ago, and caused
6324-484: The ocean's surface starting in the late 1970s, with microwave imagery which resembled radar displays, which significantly improved the diagnoses of tropical cyclone strength, intensification, and location during the 2000s and 2010s. The DSCOVR satellite, owned by NOAA, was launched in 2015 and became the first deep space satellite that can observe and predict space weather. It can detect potentially dangerous weather such as solar wind and geomagnetic storms . This
6417-404: The operational configuration. The imager satellites carry the Flexible Combined Imager (FCI), succeeding MVIRI and SEVIRI to give even greater resolution and spectral coverage, scanning the full Earth disc every ten minutes, as well as a new Lightning Imager (LI) payload. The sounder satellites carry the Infrared Sounder (IRS) and Ultra-violet Visible Near-infrared (UVN) instruments. UVN is part of
6510-420: The plains of Sicily, ending the following morning between the hours of 5 to 7 a.m. local time. Catania-Fontanarossa Airport shut down operations during the night for safety precautions. An eruption on the morning of 13 May 2008, immediately to the east of Etna's summit craters was accompanied by a swarm of more than 200 earthquakes and significant ground deformation in the summit area. The eruption continued at
6603-424: The same time, energy use and city growth can be monitored since both major and even minor cities, as well as highway lights, are conspicuous. This informs astronomers of light pollution . The New York City Blackout of 1977 was captured by one of the night orbiter DMSP space vehicles. In addition to monitoring city lights, these photos are a life saving asset in the detection and monitoring of fires. Not only do
6696-606: The satellite ground track can still be gridded later to form maps . According to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a meteorological-satellite service (also: meteorological-satellite radiocommunication service ) is – according to Article 1.52 of the ITU Radio Regulations (RR) – defined as « An earth exploration-satellite service for meteorological purposes.» This radiocommunication service
6789-429: The satellites see the fires visually day and night, but the thermal and infrared scanners on board these weather satellites detect potential fire sources below the surface of the Earth where smoldering occurs. Once the fire is detected, the same weather satellites provide vital information about wind that could fan or spread the fires. These same cloud photos from space tell the firefighter when it will rain. Some of
6882-466: The sea just to the north of Catania, in the area now occupied by the portion of the city named Ognina. Rabban Bar Sauma , a Chinese traveller to the West, recorded the eruption of Etna on 18 June 1287. The 1669 eruption , Etna's most destructive since 122 BCE, started on 11 March 1669 and produced lava flows that destroyed at least 10 villages on its southern flank before reaching the city walls of
6975-785: The single first generation satellites to continue the EPS mission. Observation is typically made via different 'channels' of the electromagnetic spectrum , in particular, the visible and infrared portions. Some of these channels include: Visible-light images from weather satellites during local daylight hours are easy to interpret even by the average person, clouds, cloud systems such as fronts and tropical storms, lakes, forests, mountains, snow ice, fires, and pollution such as smoke, smog, dust and haze are readily apparent. Even wind can be determined by cloud patterns, alignments and movement from successive photos. The thermal or infrared images recorded by sensors called scanning radiometers enable
7068-553: The south slope of the volcano, was well covered by the mass-media because it occurred at the height of the tourist season and numerous reporters and journalists were already in Italy to cover the G8 summit in Genoa . It also occurred close to one of the tourist areas on the volcano, and thus was easily accessible. Part of the "Etna Sud" tourist area, including the arrival station of the Etna cable car, were damaged by this eruption, which otherwise
7161-442: The southeastern crater reached a height of 3,357 m, but was then surpassed by the Voragine crater after the summer 2024 eruptions. Etna covers an area of 1,190 km (459 sq mi) with a basal circumference of 140 km (87 miles). This makes it by far the largest of the three active volcanoes in Italy , being about two and a half times the height of the next largest, Mount Vesuvius . Only Mount Teide on Tenerife in
7254-688: The southwest of the summit (centre top of the volcano), then activity moved towards the present centre 170,000 years ago. Eruptions at this time built up the first major volcanic edifice, forming a stratovolcano in alternating explosive and effusive eruptions. The growth of the mountain was occasionally interrupted by major eruptions, leading to the collapse of the summit to form calderas . From about 35,000 to 15,000 years ago, Etna experienced some highly explosive eruptions, generating large pyroclastic flows , which left extensive ignimbrite deposits. Ash from these eruptions has been found as far away as south of Rome 's border, 800 km (497 mi) to
7347-662: The stories told by the Breton conteurs who accompanied the Norman occupiers of Sicily. What were originally Welsh conceptions concerning a dwarf king of a paradisal , Celtic underworld became attached to the quasi-historic figure of Arthur as "Ruler of the Antipodes " and were then transplanted into a Sicilian milieu, by Bretons impressed by the already otherworldly associations of the great, volcanic mountain of their new home. Mediaevalist Roger Sherman Loomis quotes passages from
7440-452: The summit of Mount Etna, making this a multipoint of elevenfold complexity. Etna is one of Sicily's main tourist attractions, with thousands of visitors every year. The most common route is through the road leading to Sapienza Refuge ski area, lying at the south of the crater at elevation of 1,910 m. From the Refuge, a cableway runs uphill to an elevation of 2,500 m, from where
7533-572: The tourist station Piano Provenzana, on the northeastern flank of the volcano, and part of the tourist station "Etna Sud" around the Rifugio Sapienza on the south flank. Footage from the eruptions was recorded by Lucasfilm and integrated into the landscape of the planet Mustafar in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith . The Rifugio Sapienza is near the site of a cable car station which had previously been destroyed in
7626-463: The town of Catania five weeks later, on 15 April. The lava was largely diverted by these walls into the sea to the south of the city, filling the harbour of Catania. A small portion of lava eventually broke through a fragile section of the city walls on the western side of Catania and destroyed a few buildings before stopping in the rear of the Benedictine monastery, without reaching the centre of
7719-431: The town of Zafferana threatened by a lava flow, but successful diversion efforts saved the town with the loss of only one building a few hundred metres from the town's margin. Initially, such efforts consisted of the construction of earth barriers built perpendicularly to the flow direction; it was hoped that the eruption would stop before the artificial basins created behind the barriers would be completely filled. Instead,
7812-451: The town. Contrary to widespread reports of up to 15,000 (or even 20,000) human fatalities caused by the lava, contemporaneous accounts written both in Italian and English mention no deaths related to the 1669 eruption (but give very precise figures of the number of buildings destroyed, the area of cultivated land lost, and the economic damage). Therefore, it is uncertain where the enormous number of fatalities can be attributed. One possibility
7905-399: The volcanic ash cloud from Mount St. Helens and activity from other volcanoes such as Mount Etna . Smoke from fires in the western United States such as Colorado and Utah have also been monitored. El Niño and its effects on weather are monitored daily from satellite images. The Antarctic ozone hole is mapped from weather satellite data. Collectively, weather satellites flown by
7998-454: The works of Gervase of Tilbury and Caesarius of Heisterbach (dating from the late twelfth century) featuring accounts of Arthur's returning of a lost horse which had strayed into his subterranean kingdom beneath Etna. Caesarius quotes as his authority for the story a certain canon Godescalcus of Bonn, who considered it a matter of historical fact of the time of Emperor Henry 's conquest of Sicily circa 1194. Caesarius employs in his account
8091-539: Was a rather modest-sized event by Etna standards. In 2002–2003, a much larger eruption threw up a huge column of ash that could easily be seen from space and fell as far away as Libya , 600 km (370 mi) south across the Mediterranean Sea . Seismic activity in this eruption caused the eastern flanks of the volcano to slip by up to two metres, and many houses on the flanks of the volcano experienced structural damage. The eruption also completely destroyed
8184-595: Was launched into a Sun-synchronous orbit at 817 km altitude by a Soyuz launcher from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. This operational satellite - which forms the space segment of the EUMETSAT Polar System (EPS) - built on the heritage from ESA's ERS and Envisat experimental missions, and was followed at six-year intervals by Metop-B and Metop-C - the latter launched from French Guyana in a "Europeanised" Soyuz . Each carry thirteen different passive and active instruments ranging in design from imagers and sounders to
8277-550: Was launched on February 17, 1959. It was designed to measure cloud cover and resistance, but a poor axis of rotation and its elliptical orbit kept it from collecting a notable amount of useful data. The Explorer 6 and Explorer 7 satellites also contained weather-related experiments. The first weather satellite to be considered a success was TIROS-1 , launched by NASA on April 1, 1960. TIROS operated for 78 days and proved to be much more successful than Vanguard 2. Other early weather satellite programs include
8370-532: Was reassigned for use as a communications satellite. In 1990, it was relocated to 175° West, and in 1995 it was moved again, and was stationed between 102° and 110° West since 1996. Organisations which used GOES-3 for communications included Peacesat , who used it to provide communications services to islands in the Pacific Ocean ; the University of Hawaii who used it to broadcast educational programmes;
8463-534: Was retired in early July 2019. The satellite GOES 13 that was previously owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) was transferred to the U.S. Space Force in 2019 and renamed the EWS-G1; becoming the first geostationary weather satellite to be owned and operated by the U.S. Department of Defense. Russia 's new-generation weather satellite Elektro-L No.1 operates at 76°E over
8556-406: Was subsequently redesignated GOES-3. It replaced GOES 1 in service, and was initially operated at 135° West. In 1981, it was moved to 90° West, arriving in 1982, before departing again in 1984. In 1985 it arrived back at 135° West. In 1987 it was moved to 129° West, where it operated until it became unusable for meteorological studies in 1989. After ceasing operations as a weather satellite, GOES-3
8649-431: Was used by Benito Mussolini 's fascist regime for propaganda purposes, with the evacuation, aid, and rebuilding operations being presented as models of fascist planning. Mascali was rebuilt on a new site, and its church contains the Italian fascist symbol of the torch, placed above the statue of Jesus Christ . Other major 20th-century eruptions occurred in 1949, 1971, 1979, 1981, 1983 and 1991–1993. In 1971, lava buried
#339660