Fuego volcano (Guatemala): Latest observations suggest a decreasing trend in activity, but strombolian eruptions continue with explosions producing 200-500 m high ash clouds, and at least one lava flow is still active. Seismic activity is at moderate levels. ...plus
Pacaya (Guatemala): Volcanic seismic activity above background levels is visible on the PCG station. It includes tremor and shallow volcano-tectonic earthquakes. [moins]
Seismic recording from 31 July - the red lines are earthquakes under the volcano (GeoNet)
Sesimic activity has picked up under Tongariro volcano in New Zealand, GeoNet confirms in its latest bulletin. The earthquake activity had started on 13 July, peaked on 20 July, sharply decreased and picked up again with currently about 3-10 events per day. The earthquakes cluster in a zone between Mount Tongariro and the eastern side of Lake Rotoaira at 2-7 km depth. They are mostly very small and unlikely to be felt. ...plus
are occurring each day. Scientists have increased their monitoring of the volcano. Gas samplings of springs and fumaroles confirm that volcanic gases above normal levels are present. [moins]
In Guatemala, Santiaguito / Santa Maria (Guatemala) volcano has been producing some pyroclastic flows triggered by rock avalanches from the active lava flows yesterday morning. [moins]
Seismic signal (Parador station) from the night 28-29 July (INSIVUMEH)
Santiaguito volcano has showed an increase in activity yesterday morning INSIVUMEH reports in its latest special bulletin. ...plus
The block lava flows from the lava dome have a length of about 3 km in different directions, mainly in the southwest, south and southwest flanks. The fronts and steep sides of the flows generate many avalanches of blocks, which along with regular explosions from the dome cause strong seismic signals. Starting early on 29 July (local time), some of the block avalanches turned into weak pyroclastic flows, and generated thick colums of fine ash rising up to 1500 meters above the crater and moving southwest towards the San Marcos and El Rosario Palajunoj regions at an approximate distance 15 kilometers. [moins]
Our photo tour on Java im May was for Remi & Waltraud Nescher (Switzerland) their first time in Asia. They returned very happy and sent us some great photos and a report.
As our colleague Marc Szlegat reported on Vulkane.Net, the alert level of the Japanese Kirishima volcano (Kirishimayama) was raised last month"orange". This is the third out of 4 warning levels and means that an eruption could occur any time. ...plus
Last year in March, the Shinmoedake crater of the complex volcano Kirishima had a violent eruption that make the headlines. The volcano is located close to the other volcano currently on orange alert in Kyushu, Sakura-jima, which last week had a stronger explosion that caused ashfall in the nearby city of Kagoshima. [moins]
Our interactive volcano and earthquake map can be easily configured to show earthquakes for specific individual regions (so far, only volcanic regions are considered). ...plus
A number of great recent photos from these and other volcanoes have recently been submitted to our image pool for the Photo of the Month competition, mostly by guests on our tours. Have a look and vote for your favorites or submit own pictures!
No particularly unusual volcanic activity is taking place at the moment. Mainly based on the latest Smithsonian / USGS activity report, webcams and other sources, the following is a brief summary: ...plus
Ambrym (Vanuatu): The lava lakes on Ambrym are very active and a significant SO2 plume is usually seen drifting from the volcano by NOAA's satellite. [moins]
Weak but frequent explosions occur at Fuego volcano in Guatemala. On 25-26 July, they were producing gray ash columns reaching heights of 300 m to 600 m, and drifting up to 12 km west, northwest and southwest. ...plus
The explosions ejected incandescent material to heights of 100 to 150 m above the crater and generated weak avalanches on the upper crater flanks with rumbling and jetting sounds. Weak glow is seen at the crater at night. The lava flow toward Taniluyá canyon reaches 400 meters in length. A new lava flow is active toward Ceniza ("ash") Canyon and has reached 200 m length, and from both flows, glowing lava blocks roll down the flanks and reach the vegetation. A third lava flow was observed in the direction of the Lajas Canyon with a length of 600 m. [moins]
Mild strombolian activity from an intracrater vent inside Bocca Nuova crater continues at fluctuating intensity. Last night, there were frequent explosions was accompanied by a relatively strong tremor signal and well visible on webcams. ...plus
The activity which now has been going on for about a month is slowly buiding a new spatter cone inside the SE pit of Bocca Nuova. This activity is similar to a long period of persistant summit activity observed during much of 1995-97. [moins]
Sakurajima volcano continues to be particularly active. The volcano, known for its persistant svulcanian type eruptions, typically 1-2 per day, has been having more than usual frequent and stronger explosions during the past months. ...plus
A powerful eruption occurred last evening a recent youtube video shows. The explosion occurred not from the normally active Showa-dake, but the less frequently active Minami-dake crater, and the explosion showered the flanks of the volcano with hundreds of blocks up to considerable distance. An ash column can be seen rising several kilometers. Today, several explosions occurred as well with ash plumes reported up to 10,000 ft (ca. 3 km) altitude, the Tokyo VAAC reported. [moins]
The active lava dome inside Semeru's summit crater as seen on 19 July (Photo: Andi / VolcanoDiscovery)
The lava dome of Semeru volcano, East Java, is active and growing slowly our recent expedition group observed on 18-19 July during our trekking tour Volcanoes of Java. ...plus
There is an area of incandescence visible at the SW part of the dome inside the half-open summit crater, and it is producing regular small to moderate ash explosions. Ash venting and small explosions had resumed in 2011. [moins]
A large M6.6 earthquake occurred on or near Simeulu Island, west of Sumatra, Indonesia. Preliminary data from USGS indicate a magnitude of 6.6 and an epicenter depth of about 45 km. The quake is located approx. 100 km east of the Sunda trench marking the subduction of the Indo-Australian under the Southeast Asian lithospheric plate.
Interactive map of earthquakes: earthquakes.volcanodiscovery.com
We present a new tool based on our popular VolcanoWidget - an online and embeddable interactive map with current earthquake information world-wide. Have a look!
Tongariro volcano is showing signs of a possible awakening. On 13 July 2012, an increase in small (<M2.5) earthquakes was detected. The quakes were clustered at depths of 2-7 km under the area between Emerald crater and Te Mari crater. ...plus
More than 20 earthquakes were recorded until 20 July, when the seismic activity peaked and prompted GeoNet to raise the alert level from 0 to 1. Compared to a background average of 2 quakes per year, the swarm is significant and could indicate magma movements. Seismic activity dropped on 21 July with only 1 quake since then, but preliminary measurements show an increase in volcanic gas emission. NZ Scientist started to increase their monitoring at the volcano. [moins]
Over the past two weeks, many DI pressure cycles have dominated the style of eruptive activity on Kīlauea volcano, influencing the location of coastal lava flows to be closer to the ocean or to the hillside with more and less pressure respectively. Active lava flows have been accessible over private land every day except one since our last update, and during higher pressure stands the activity has often put lava just inside the National Park boundary close to the ocean. During higher pressure days, lava flows often also break out on the lower part of the hillside and can be seen from a great distance from specific points within the National Park. ...plus
The closer and safer access to active lava flows on the coastal plain is crossing private land with an authorized guide from the Kalapana side -- and it's still a 7-mile round-trip which can feel like twice that distance. When lava is present in the National Park, that hike is estimated to be a 12-mile round-trip. Check out our most recent Kalapana lava flow time-lapse on our YouTube channel. [moins]
Lien & Lorre sent us the following report from a recent visit to Stromboli: ...plus
"Thursday 5th of July, what's in a date... We were lucky to be on the right spot at the right time… Our third day at Stromboli, we went for the easy hike via San Bartolo to the north to the “osservatoria”. [moins]
Another swarm of earthquakes with about 50 quakes between M2-3.3 occurred today in the SW part of El Hierro. ...plus
The quakes were at depths mostly between 20-25 km, i.e. slightly deeper than most previous quakes and could indicate a new intrusion from depth. It is also a clear sign that the seismic crisis on El Hierro is far from over. [moins]
Panorama of the summit crater of Anak Krakatau (2 July 2012)
The collapse pits at the site of the 2012 lava dome in the western part of the summit crater of Krakatau (2 July 2012)
During our recent expedition to Krakatau volcano, we could no longer see the lava dome active during Feb-May this year. Probably, the magma column had dropped in mid to late May and the dome collapsed. At its place, there were only 2 collapse pits, very hot ground and intense degassing from numerous fumaroles inside and outside of the now large summit crater. ...plus
Seismic activity when visiting the local volcano observatory was at very low levels, suggesting that Anak Krakatau is at the moment in a phase of repose. Interestingly, a number (at least 4) areas with apparent submarine hydrothermal iron-bearing vents were observed that had not been there last year. In these areas, bubbling could be seen in the water, and where accessible, iron-rich greenish warm mud was found at the sea floor, which oxidized to orange when brought to the surface. The sea water around these areas had an intense yellow stain. Very similar submarine activity is known from around Nea Kameni island, Santorini. [moins]
The seismic activity has calmed down since 4 July, after several pulses of intense earthquake activity, sometimes accompanied by an elevated tremor signal, in particular during 29 June - 1 July, and 2-3 July. ...plus
The epicenters have remained at about 18-21 km depth at or near the SW tip of the island, suggesting that magma has accumulated there. [moins]
An episode of increased activity was observed at Stromboli on 5 July evening. Tremor was visible on the seismic recording and Dr. Boris Behncke (INGV Catania) reported a lava fountain from the western vent in the crater accompanied by a small lava flow on the Sciara del Fuoco. ...plus
Last year, there have also been similar episodes of this kind. [moins]
Despite smaller-scale pressure cycles on Kīlauea volcano, recorded as a series of 1-2 microradian deflation-inflation events at the summit, lava levels have remained high with lots of activity for visitors to experience up close or from a distance! Glow visible from the Jaggar Overlook of the newest summit crater, the Overlook Vent, continues to be spectacularly bright during the evening hours, and lava flows continue to be active on the coast and are even visible from a distance on clear nights, better from the National Park side (as shown by the USGS Hōlei Pali Mobile Cam 4). ...plus
Meanwhile, the eastern active lava flow branch which reactivated above the pali (hillside) one month ago has reached the coastal plain once again, while the western branch continues to fill in low areas, inflate and slowly inch its way closer to the ocean. Lava flows are still accessible over private land from Kalapana with authorized guides by means of a 7mi/11km round-trip hike, or possibly from the National Park side (as lava is reported to be lingering on the National Park boundary) by means of a ~12mi/19km round-trip hike from the downwind direction. [moins]
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