Abstract
The petrological study of volcanic products emitted during the paroxysmal events of December 2015 from the summit craters of Mount Etna allow us to constrain T-P-XH 2 O phase stability, crystallization conditions, and mixing processes along the main open-conduit feeding system. In this study, we discuss new geochemical, thermo-barometric data and related Rhyolite-MELTS modelling of the eruptive activity that involved the concomitant activation of all summit craters. The results, in comparison with the previous paroxysmal events of the 2011–2012, reinforce the model of a vertically extended feeding system and highlight that the activity at the New South-East Crater was fed by magma residing at a significantly shallower depth with respect to the Central Craters (CC) and North-East Crater (NEC), even if all conduits were fed by a common deep ( P = 530–440 MPa) basic magmatic input. Plagioclase dissolution, resorption textures, and the Rhyolite-MELTS stability model corroborate its dependence on H 2 O content; thus, suggesting that further studies on the effect that flushing from fluids with different H 2 O/CO 2 ratio are needed to understand the eruption-triggering mechanisms for high energetic strombolian paroxysmal episodes.