Since this morning, weak Strombolian activity and ash emissions have been observed at the New SE crater. This could be the start of a build-up towards another paroxysm if the eruption pattern is the same as during most of the previous 22 eruptions since early 2011. At the moment, tremor signal is quiet low, but as the past has shown, it could change very quickly. The next paroxysm could probably occur anywhere between today and the next 2 weeks.
No major eruptions have occurred during the past week. Iceland, Santorini and Etna remain quiet. In Indonesia, Krakatau and Semeru are very active, Ijen remains at high alert. Soufrière Hills on Montserrat seems to be waking up, while Puyehue in Chile's eruption is fading. ...more
The new Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report for the past week is ummarized as follows: [less]
Santiaguito volcano's activity remained at elevated levels during the past week, the latest USGS / GVP activity summary shows. ...more
Several block lava flows are traveling down from the dome, and generate glowing avalanches. Frequent explosions produce ash plumes rising 800-900 m above the lava dome. An explosion on 26 March produced pyroclastic flow on the western flank of the cone. Satellite images detected several plumes extending up to 33 km in south-westerly directions. Ash fall occurred in up to about 10 km distances in areas to the south at the Observatory Vulcanológico de Santiaguito (OVSAN), and to the SW at the El Faro, La Florida, and Patzulin ranches (SW), as well as in the village of Santa María de Jesús (SE). [less]
Our expedition leader Doni just returned from a visit to Semeru and reports that on 27 March, he and our group observed frequent explosions every few minutes, with many powerful enough to eject glowing bombs to produce small glowing avalanches down on the southern flank of the volcano.
Authorities have decided to declare the eruption ended and shut down the web cameras at La Restinga and stop active monitoring of what could still be going or not down at the sea floor south of La Restinga.
The growing lava dome inside Anak Krakatau's summit crater on 26 March 2012 (photo: Andi Rosati / VolcanoDiscovery)
The glow from Anak Krakatau seen at night from Rakata Island (26 March, photo: Andi)
An active lava dome is growing inside the summit crater of Krakatau volcano. Our tour expedition leader Andi just returned from a visit and reports that the dome is now about 100 m wide, and has 2 main active vents that eject jets of incandescent gas. ...more
At night, the glow from the dome is clearly visible from Rakata and Sertung islands, and a continuous intense solfatara plume is rising about 500 m above the summit. Andi and our group observed also that there are now more and larger fumarole fields on the southern part of the cone. According to our observations and the opinion of local scientists, this area is inflated due to the pushing of the lava dome. The seismic recordings from the observatory of Krakatau also show an increase in activity. On 26 March, there were 138 volcanic-tectonic (A-type) earthquakes and 300 long-period (B-type) quakes alone. [less]
According to scientists around geologist Dr. Shan de Silva from Oregon State University, the ground beneath the volcano is inflating and the magma chamber might be filling. Along with thousands of microquakes, this could indicate a future eruption. ...more
A study published in 2008 revealed that between 1992 and 2006, geodetic satellite measurements recorded an ongoing 70 km wide deformation field with a central uplift rate of 1 to 2 cm/yr. This uplift, could be explained by an average magma influx of 1 cubic meters per second from a source at 17-30 km depth into a shallow reservoir. Sediment and stratigraphic studies suggest that the uplift might actually have started at the time, which would mean that the volcano has just started to be at unrest. [less]
Eruptive column above Tungurahua volcano reaching about 2 km height and heading towards the northeast. March 26, 2012, 09:30 (local time), L. Troncoso - IGEPN
Tungurahua volcano's activity has been increasing, Ecuador's Instituto Geofísico reports. Throughout the morning of March 26, a constant column of steam and ash was rising from the summit crater, reaching up to 3 km height and drifting towards the northeast, where ash fall occurred. Ash fall was significant in the San Francisco and Black River areas, and mild in Baños, the Ventanas en Runtún, Juive, Pondoa, Puntzán and Cusúa sectors. ...more
Occasional roaring explosion sounds were heard from small to moderate explosive events. Seismic activity remains characterized by volcanic tremor episodes lasting several minutes, interspersed with tremor bursts and long-period events, which are related to fluid movements within the volcano. [less]
As our colleague Marc from vulkane.net reports, the volcano Batu Tara in the Sunda Sea off the island of Flores in Indonesia had a larger than usual ash eruption today, which triggered an alert of the VAAC Darwin, who raised the aviation color code to "orange", as the drifting ash cloud is be a hazard to local air traffic. ...more
Batu Tara is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia and is characterized, similar to Stromboli volcano, by semi-permanent explosive summit activity. [less]
Popocatepétl volcano in Mexico has been showing signs of increased activity recently, The National Center for Disaster Prevention (CENAPRED) reported yesterday. ...more
During 24-25 March, the volcano had 33 small steam and gas emissions, accompanied by small earthquakes and volcanic tremor. On Saturday night, incandescence was observed at the crater. CENAPRED recommends a safety radius of 12 kilometers around the volcano as eruptions with higher intensity could occur any time. [less]
Ash venting at Soufriere Hills volcano on 23 March (Photo: MVO)
New ash eruptions have occurred at Soufriere Hills volcano on Montserrat. The activity is probably phreatic in origin and caused by rising magma under the volcano. ...more
The ash emissions began at around 8 am local time on 23 March, following 2 volcanic earthquake swarms on 22 and 23 March, the Montserrat Volcano Observatory (MVO) reports. [less]
The Mexican 7.4 magnitude earthquake near Acapulco on Tuesday might have affected the currently dormant San Salvador volcano in 1000 km distance and triggered an earthquake swarm under the volcano. ...more
San Salvador volcano is an active stratovolcano immediately northwest of the capital San Salvador City and last erupted in 1917. [less]
Santorini has remained relatively calm for 60 years since its last eruption in 1950, but started to re-awake in early 2011 with beginning inflation and increased seismic activity under the volcano. ...more
A brand-new study of a team around Professor Prof. Andrew Newman, a geophysicist from Georgia Tech university, is now publishing the results of deformation measurements using precise GPS measurements in the scientific journal Geophysical Research Letters. [less]
A relatively quiet week of volcanic activity has passed and as on every Thursday, the new Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report is issued. It is summarized as follows: ...more
-- new activity --- Iliamna (Alaska): increased seismic and fumarolic activity [less]
According to the latest activity report provided by USGS / GVP Smithsonian, the activity at Shiveluch has increased since 10 March and consisted of daily explosions that produced ash plumes that rose to altitudes of 3-5 km (10,000-16,400 ft) a.s.l. ...more
A small viscous lava flow continued to be active in the crater formed during explosions in 2010, and satellite data show a thermal anomaly from the lava dome in the main crater. [less]
The earthquake swarm at Santorini island, Greece, which that had started 4 days ago continues with more small quakes inside the caldera at shallow depths of around 6 km. This could suggest another magmatic intrusion the volcanic system.
Sakurajima volcano on the Island of Kyushu, Japan, continues to be more active than usually at the moment. Yesterday, a stronger explosion occurred that produced an ash column reaching 3 km altitude (Flight Level 90 = 9,000 feet) which drifted to the south, as the Tokyo VAAC reported. ...more
Based on pilot reports, ash plumes during 18-20 March were rising to altitudes of 1.2-4 km (4,000-13,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted SE and E. [less]
Another series of explosions has occurred early today at Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador, the Instituto Geofísico (IG) reports. The eruption was reported to be very noisy and caused minor ash fall in nearby villages, but no damage. ...more
From 23:39 (local time) on March 19, a rapid increase of tremor was detected and observers reported roaring noises from the volcano in up to 14 km distance. About an hour after the onset of tremor reports of ash fall came from El Manzano and Choglontús. At 00h22 today, there was an loud explosion whose cannon-shot like shock wave was heard in Choglontús, El Manzano and Puntzán. Incandescent lava bombs could be seen ejected from the summit crater and landing up to approx. 200 m distance on the upper slope. [less]
VolcanoDiscovery team member Adi Susanto returned from a visit to Ijen volcano in East Java, where he observed strong degassing on 17 March. At the moment, the alert level of Ijen is still at 3 (on a scale of 1-4) and the area is strictly closed to workers and visitors as an eruption could occur with little warning. ...more
Measurements of the park showed dangerously high levels of SO2 at the crater. Volcanic tremor and earthquakes are at fluctuating elevated numbers and intensity. [less]
The University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria has published images of glowing lava seen floating at a depth of 70 m. This shows that the eruption continues.
After about 6 weeks of calm, another seismic swarm has started yesterday at Santorini, clustered in the NE sector of the island and near the submarine Kolumbo volcano. The quakes are very small and will not have been felt. The largest was a magnitude 2.0 quake on 18 March at 10:37 GMT at 11 km depth beneath Kolumbo volcano.
Another paroxysm has occurred at the New SE crater of Etna volcano yesterday 18 March 2012. This marks the 22nd eruption of this type since the start of the series in January 2010. ...more
The strombolian activity from the crater which had started on 17 March continued during the night. From 03:30 local time, the glow had been continuous and the frequency of explosions rose to 25-30 per hour. Large incandescent bombs were observed landing on the outer flanks of the cone. The intervals between paroxysms are becoming shorter, as well as the precursor activity ! [less]
As expected, activity is increasing at the lava flow-front as renewed pressure propagates along the magmatic system, even as further (apparently smaller) pressure variations occur. Stay tuned for more pictures and detailed updates as our tour schedule and the eruption allows!
Screenshot of the video taken at the southwestern flank of the main submarine cone at 170 m depth, showing what looks like round lava bombs (or pillow lava?)
Scientists from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) aboard the research vessel Atlantic Explorer have published the first videos of the underwater volcanic cone in the Sea of Las Calmas south of El Hierro. The videos, taken by an underwater robot during their latest campaign, show that the eruption is continuing, but also suggest that the summit is still at 120 m rather than the 88 m found during the previous research campaign just 2 weeks earlier. ...more
In their press release, the scientists say that there is no "tremor" on the surface of the water, but a "shower of glowing stars" can be seen under water (note: probably, they refer to white ash and tephra particles floating as seen in the video). They conclude that the vent remains active, and generates a convecting column of hot water rising up to 40 m depth. Temperatures of over 60ºC were measured in the area where the robot could approach. Also, fish and other marine life could be seen in some videos proofing that life persists despite the eruption. [less]
Shiveluch volcano in Kamchatka is erupting and generates a tall plume of ash reaching 17,000 ft (around 6.5 km altitude), the Tokyo Volcanic Ash Advisory Center (VAAC) reports. The ash cloud is drifting E to SE.
Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands has had a few small explosive ash eruptions, the last one on 14 March, the Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) reports. ...more
The lava dome in the summit crater continues to grow slowly and more eruptions are likely. AVO writes: "As long as the volcano remains active, additional explosions are likely. Some may produce ash clouds exceeding 20,000 feet above sea level. These clouds may go undetected in satellite imagery for hours. If a large ash-producing event occurs, seismic, infrasound, or volcanic lightning would likely be detected by local and regional monitoring networks. There is no real-time seismic monitoring network on Cleveland volcano." [less]
The new Smithsonian / USGS Weekly Volcanic Activity Report summarized: ...more
-- new activity --- Bezymianny (Kamchatka): strong explosive eruption on 9 March, ash plumes from explosion and pyroclastic flows rising to 8 km (26,200 ft) altitude a.s.l. and plume drifting 700 km NE [less]
A new volcano in Indonesia, Lamongan volcano in Eastern Java, is showing signs of unrest: weak steaming from its active crater and increasing earthquakes were reported by Indonesian scientists. The increase in earthquakes started on 23 February and seismicity increased again significantly on 8 March when tremor was recorded continuously the next day. ...more
CVGHM raised the Alert Level to 2 (on a scale of 1-4) on 9 March. Residents and tourists were prohibited from going within a 1-km-radius of the active crater. Lamongan is a small, relatively unknown stratovolcano east of the large Tengger massif (which contains the famous Bromo volcano). It was very active in the 19th century when it produced several lava flows, but has remained more or less silent during the past 110 years. [less]
A small pyroclastic flow occurred from Montserrat's Soufrière Hills volcano on 9 March, MVO reports. The flow was small, but happened with no warning at around 5:20 pm (local time) from the western flanks of Soufriere Hills Volcano down into Spring Ghaut. ...more
The pyroclastic flow traveled about 1 km to the west towards Plymouth before its ash dissipated to form a small ash cloud rising 1.3 km and drifting towards St. Georges Hill and out to sea. MVO has published further details and photographs of this event which is significant as it occurred during a quiet phase of the volcano with no current active lava dome growth and illustrates the hazard of sudden pyroclastic flows. "There were no precursors to this event. Although activity has generally been low, this event clearly illustrates that Soufrière Hills Volcano is still an active volcano and that pyroclastic flows can occur at any time with little to no warning." [less]
Moderately large eruptions have occurred at Mt. Sakurajima volcano in southern Kyushu, Japan. During the past few days, several vulcanian-type explosions took place that ejected large amounts of bombs, with some of 50 cm diameter landing in up to 2 km distance. Ash plumes produced reached a modest altitude of 8000 ft (ca. 2.5 km) (VAAC Tokyo). ...more
According to various news agencies quoting the Japanese Meteorological Agency an eruption that was videotaped on Monday was "the largest since 2009". This statement appears a somehow questionable, because the activity rather looks like more than slightly more than average activity. No injures or significant damage have been reported. [less]
A weak stain has been visible today above the submarine spot in the Las Calmas Sea south of La Restinga, and a jacuzzi occurred faint this morning at 07:30 am. Volcanic tremor seems to continue at constant, although minimal levels. This suggests that the eruption is indeed continuing.
High-temperature fumaraoles from the comosite cone (the "dome") at the shore of Poás' crater lake (photo: E. Fernández, 24 Feb 2012)
During February, Poás activity consisted in strong high-temperature fumarolic activity and sporadic small phreatic explosions, reported by park rangers. ...more
The latest monthly bulletin of Costa Rica's volcano observatory OBSICORI published a more detailed summary of Poás' activity during February summarized as follows: The ultra-acid crater lake had a greenish-gray color with sporadic convection cells visible in the central part carrying sulfur in suspension. Lake temperature were measured at 44° C, which is a value significantly lower than those measured during most of 2009-2011. The pH value of the lake water was measured at 0.01, slightly "less" acidic than during November 2011 (pH -0.4). [less]
Lava flows have advanced 0.6mi/1km from the base of the pali over the past 6 days but are still 1.4mi/2km from the ocean. Lower pressure in the volcano may cause a temporary slowdown in coming days.
A technically minor, but visually obvious design change was just implemented,- everything stays the same, but we thought to add a picture to the top... I hope you like the change! ...more
The official alert level for Ijen volcano in East Java, Indonesia, has been raised again to 3 ("alert") due to an increase in activity, our Indonesian correspondant Andi reports. ...more
A new 10 m wide gas vent, which erupted buring gasses, was observed on 10 March at 17 m distance from the shore. Thick steaming, larger than usual, forming a thick white column of sulfur steam 200 m high was already noted since 3 March. Measurements of the lake water temperature at 5 m depth had also shown increased values of 42.70 deg C. On 10 March, the lake surface was 2 meters higher than normal, although this could be attributed to heavy recent rain fall. [less]
From about 13:00 (local time) today (12 March), Tungurahua volcano started erupting a constant column of steam and ash. At the same time, volcanic tremor was recorded. ...more
The column emission reached a maximum height of 3 km and drifted toward the west and south-west. From the Juive area, roars could be heard accompanying the eruptions. So far, there were no reports of ashfall. [less]
Ash eruption of Sheveluch volcano on 10 March 2012 (photo: Yu. Demyanchuk)
An moderate vulcanian-type explosion occurred from Shiveluch volcano's slowly growing lava dome on 10 March and was photographed by KVERT staff member volcanologist Yu. Demyanchuk
After the eastern lava flow branch referred to in our previous post, first to reach the coastal plain in 2012, almost entirely stalled, the western flow branch has also reached the coastal plain this week, still about 2mi/3km away from the ocean. This western branch is feeding inflating pahoehoe lava flows at the base of the pali, which should continue for several days to fill in a low spot. However, this flow branch looks to have enough momentum to start travelling across the plain towards the ocean, though only time will tell! Check out our best pictures from this activity last night!
The snow-caped summit and steaming crater of Nevado del Ruiz volcano on 8 March
Nevado del Ruiz volcano's crater seen on 8 Mar 2012. Scientists measured a strong heat source.
Colombia's Nevado del Ruiz volcano has been showing increasing signs of volcanic unrest and might be close to an eruption, INGEOMINAS reports in their latest special bulletin. ...more
An overflight on 8 March revealed intense steaming from the main crater and the presence of ash on the summit glacier, the crater rim and on the volcano's eastern flanks, probably from the phreatic explosions reported earlier since 22 Februry. The steam plume reached an inpressive 1400 m (4,500 ft) height. In addition, a thermal anomaly can be identified in the crater and levels of SO2 emission, as well as seismic activity with tremor signals have increased. This all adds to the likelyhood of a new eruption from the volcano, which, during its infamous 1985 eruption, killed about 30,000 people by a deadly lahar in the village of Armero. [less]
The results of the latest bathymetric mapping survey by the crew of the oceanographic research vessel Ramon Margalef show that the eruption is still continuing, and could still go on for a very long time. ...more
New bathymetric data show that the submarine cone has reached 88 m below sea levels, and has thus grown 36 meters during the past month. If present grow rate continues, "we should start to see surface disturbances in about two to four week as hydro magmatic explosions start", Carl writes in an analysis on the interesting lavacafe blog (see comments). [less]
Seismic activity recorded at Iliamna volcano on 9 Mar 2012 (AVO)
Since the middle of January 2012, seismic activity at Iliamna volcano has increased with more than usual numbers of earthquakes greater than magnitude 2. ...more
It is common to have earthquake swarms in the vicinity of Iliamna, which are usually caused by magmatic intrusion at depth. The ongoing activity is being closely monitored by AVO seismologists. AVO for now has not raised the alert status, which officially remains at "green". Similar swarms have last occurred in 1996-97, and there was no eruption then. [less]
Following the steep increase of seismic activity a and eruption warning since 2 March, a new explosive eruption of Bezymianny volcano (the "volcano without name") in Kamchatka has started yesterday evening and is continuing. ...more
According to Tokyo Ash Advisory Center, a plume is visible on Landsat imagery reaching flight level 270 (27,000 ft / around 9 km altitude) and extends 136 mi (220 km) to the north-east from the volcano. KVERT reports that the "strong explosive eruption began about 21:27 UTC on March 08 and continues." Ash fall started to occur at Ust'-Kamchatsk Village from 01:30 UTC om March 09, and continues at present. [less]
Sakurajima volcano appears to be at higher levels of activity, as the last week has seen an increased average number and size of eruptions. According to the latest USGS / Smithsonian report "explosions during the past week "often" produced plumes that rose to altitudes of 1.2-3 km (4,000-10,000 ft) a.s.l. and drifted NW, E, and SE." Many obseervations of ash plumes originate of analysis of satellite data and dedicated Volcanic Ash Advisory Centers (VAAC) around the world monitor them and transmit real-time information about hazardous ash plumes to aircraft and air traffic control centers. Such reports are often complemented by direct observations from pilots passing nearby. ...more
Ash plumes from Sakurajima were observed by pilots on 5 and 6 March, the latter drifting SE at an altitude of 2.4 km (8,000 ft) a.s.l. Sakurajima volcano in southern Kyushu, Japan, is one of the few volcanoes in the world with near persistent activity and typically produces 1-2 strombolian to vulcanian-style explosions per day. [less]
The remote Bezymianny volcano in Kamchatka might be close to an eruption, as its seismic activity is continuously increasing, the Russian Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (KVERT) reported yesterday. ...more
Strong ash explosions up to 42,640 ft (13 km) a.s.l. are possible at any time. Ongoing activity could affect international and low-flying aircraft.Seismic activity began to increase on February 12, when about 7-19 weak seismic events were registered each day until 29 Feb. During 1-5 March, this number increased to about 25-43 weak seismic events and episodes of volcanic tremor. KVERT warns that the activity might signal a buildup towards a larger eruption. [less]
The 2 German tourists who were kidnapped on 17 January from their camp on the Erta Ale volcano in the northern Danakil desert, Ethiopia, are reported to have been released, news agencies reported from Addis Ababa. ...more
According to AFP, the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF) has said that the 2 German tourists have already been handed over to representatives of the Afar tribe and from there to the German Embassy staff on Monday. The German Foreign Office has not yet officially confirmed this information. [less]
Mount Marapi in West Sumatra continues to produce ash explosions during the past week. According to local news, a few weak explosions on Wednesday were followed by an eruption on Sunday morning produced an ash column about 1 km high, which traveled about 10 km southwards. The volcano is currently closed for climbers and a 3 km exclusion zone is in place. ...more
Bukittinggi's Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Agency (PVMBG) officer Suparmo is quoted that "the activity on Sunday was Marapi's strongest in recent days, although he noted that the alert level has remained at level II as the volcano's activity is showing a downward trend". [less]
To the relief of Santorini's inhabitants, seismic activity under the volcano and near the island, which had experienced swarms and increased levels in recent months, seems to continue to remain calm.
On 5 March, the Instituto Geografico wrote that the eruption that had started on 10 October 2011 has ended. ...more
In fact, seismic and visual activity are not completely absent, but only at very low levels with ever increasing intervals of complete absence. Since there is no direct observation of the submarine vent to determine if any lava is still being erupted, it is difficult to say whether the eruption has ended. However, the overall decreasing trend during the past months illustrates that the eruption is gradually fading out, if it has not yet died already. [less]
Ulla on the top of Ojos del Salado volcano (6893 m)
On top of the world... Our team member Ulla Lohmann is happy to have reached the world's highest volcano with almost 7000 m. ...more
Ojos del Salado at 6893 m is the highest volcano of the world, the highest mountain of Chile and the second highest mountain in the world outside the Himalaya. The climb success rate is about 25%, and climbers can face extreme conditions at the top, wind gusts of up to 200 km/h and temperatures down to -30 deg C are nothing unusual here. [less]
Ecuador's Instituto Geofísico (IG) reports an increase of Tunguarahua volcano's activity: Since last night (3 March), 4 explosions have been reported of moderate to large size. An explosion at 07:31 local time today produced an ash columnreaching about 4 km in height and drifting to the west - northwest. ...more
A second explosion took place at 09:11 (local time) and produced a strong shock wave that rattled the ground and windows in nearby areas. CLoud cover has prevented detailed observations, but with the help of thermal sensors, hot fresh deposits were detected on the flanks, suggesting they were the result of a pyroclastic flow. In the morning, the observatory post at Cusúa reported the presence of hot deposits on the upper flank typical for fresh pyroclastic flow deposits. [less]
The eruption column with large steam clouds hiding the lava fountain rising from the New SE crater
The 21st paroxysmal eruption of Etna's New SE crater started early on 4 March, following a week of intermittent strombolian activity and accompanied by a steep rise of volcanic tremor. Lava fountains several 100 m tall were rising from the summit crater during the peak phase of the eruption, generating a 2-3 km tall tephra and steam plume, which rose almost vertically due to the absence of strong winds, and drifted SE. ...more
A lava flow was erupted from the SE trending fissure and went towards and partly into the Valle del Bove. Episodes of violent, explosive lava-snow interaction were observed producing large billowing steam plumes and probably generating small pyroclastic flows, similar to such events during previous paroxysms. [less]
Pahoehoe lava flows run down the final slope onto Kīlauea's coastal plain on March 2, 2012.
Philip jumps into the lava timelapse but comes out a bit blurry...
An eastern lava flow branch from the Peace Day Fissure has reached the plains west of Kalapana, making for spectacular views at sunset -- see our timelapse video linked below! ...more
The flows at the front of this eastern branch were rather sluggish, and it appeared that much of the lava was being diverted to a western branch which is also poised to come down the pali. The hike to this eastern flow-front is now less than 3.5mi/6km from our legal access across private property in Kalapana, or about 2 hours each way. On a sad note, Jack's Lava House finally burned down last night as a result of the much broader and more active western lava flow branch. [less]
Occasional strombolian explosions are occurring from the summit vent of the New SE crater. At the moment, the tremor signal is very low and not indicating that a paroxysm is to be expected in the immediate future.
No immediate end of the eruption is in sight, although it continues at minimal intensity. Volcanic tremor has recovered to a weak and constant level, and occasionally one or two spots with stained water were observed on the sea surface. ...more
Earthquake activity continues with 5-10 mostly very small, but slightly stronger compared to previous weeks, quakes centered around 10 km depth mostly in the south-central part of the island. These quakes could suggest that intrusions of magma in the upper crust beneath the island continue, and there is a small chance that new vents could open up. [less]
Sporadic strombolian activity has resumed at the New SE crater early on 29 February. Explosions have been occuring at varying intervals between few minutes and more than 2 hours. The explosions were up to a few tens of meters high and occasionally threw incandescent bombs onto the southern flank of the cone.
Seismic recording of a phreatic explosion at 00:16 local time on 19 February 2012
New phreatic explosions were recorded at Rincón de la Vieja volcano in northern Costa Rica. ...more
On 23 February, residents in Guachipelin (11 km to the SW) woke up to hear explosion sounds between 0400 and 0430 local time. Seismic recordings showed signals typical for explosions at the same time, although other residents in other areas did not hear any eruption. Similar seismic signals were detected on 19 Feb at 00:16 and on 20 Feb at 00:46 local time, suggesting that smaller explosions occurred then as well. [less]
After some underground adjustments last week between Kīlauea and Mauna Loa volcanoes, pressure continues to push magma through Kīlauea's summit and east rift zone, erupting from the Peace Day Fissure on the east flank of Pu`u `O`o vent and building a lava tube system currently outletting near the top of the former Royal Gardens subdivision. ...more
The flow-front is just about ready to come down the steepest part of the hillside, or "pali", and should make for spectacular views in the next few days, if the rainy island weather lets up! Private Tours with our LAVA PRIORITY are available again to see this activity, but still require an 8mi/13km round-trip hike over the uneven, barren ground of the volcano's recent lava flows and is thus rated "challenging". We will post pictures of these new flows in the next few days, which we expect will look something like our video & time-lapse footage from December 4, 2011! [less]
Maintaining the volcano and earthquake news sections on this website, the free Volcano Webcams tool and interactive map widget is a free-time, both time- and server cost intensive effort. If you find the information useful and would like to support us, and help keep it alive and improve it, please consider making a small donation. Thank you!
