Research Paper on:
Past and Present Mount Etna Volcanic Eruptions

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
Photographs taken of its frequent eruptions are visually spectacular and Etnas complexities continue to confound geologists. There can be little doubt, however, that despite its description as a  "friendly giant" (Jennings, 2002), because its eruptions lack the ferocity of Vesuvius, throughout its long history, Mt. Etna is responsible for the death and destruction of countless numbers of people,  wild life and property. The first recorded eruption was in 1500 B.C., but there was undoubtedly activity before then, perhaps a half-million years ago, based on geological studies performed  in the Catania region (Mt. Etna Volcano - Sicily, Italy, 2002; Gillot et al., 1994). According to detailed studies, after a relatively calm period after the first eruption of  approximately 800 years, Etna began erupting fairly regularly, and since 1994, these volcanic disturbances have occurred on a yearly basis, with the most serious eruptions having taken place in 122  B.C., 1669 and 1787 (Mt. Etna Volcano - Sicily, Italy, 2002). The deadly reputation of Mt. Etna has long been celebrated in classical Greek literature and mythology. Homer  wrote about it in his epic poetry, and the ancient Greeks believed that the wrath of Etna was attributed to Zeuss imprisonment of a giant named Typhon far beneath the  volcanos surface (Gidwitz, 2002). Whenever Typhon would try to escape, Etnas mighty eruptions and earthquakes would be generated (Gidwitz, 2002). Although in comparison with other volcanoes of its  type, it is regarded as "harmless" because catastrophic eruptions have been rare despite its lengthy history, it is still nevertheless an extremely hazardous volcano, and one in which boiling lava  poses a dangerous threat to lives as well as property (Etna and Man: Volcanic Hazards - What is Etna Capable Of?, 2002). In order to gain a greater understanding into