Scientists discover new way to detect volcanic eruptions at Mount Etna

Scientists have discovered a novel way to predict the next eruption at Mount Etna, the active volcano on the Italian island of Sicily. Researchers at Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology are monitoring signals of magma movement within the Earth's crust to detect when the next eruption at Etna is imminent, according to a paper published in Science earlier this month. By studying the b value within the Earth's crust -- a parameter that measures the ratio of low- to high-magnitude earthquakes -- volcanologists can monitor crustal stress changes and track magma as it moves from deep within the crust and rises to the summit of the volcano, according to the paper. An updated statistical model that compiled data from Etna from 2005 to 2024 found a correlation between volcanic