Erta Ale (Ethiopia) volcano news:
Erta Ale volcano (Danakil, Ethiopia): new fissure eruption on lower ESE flank
Thursday May 30, 2019 15:09 PM | BY: T
Satellite image of Erta Ale from yesterday shows a new hot spot (possible area with new lava flows) on the ESE flank (image: Sentinal-hub)
If the thermal signal is from lava, which is very likely, it seems that a new eruptive fissure has opened up there.
An interpretation is that the central conduit still being largely blocked following the collapse events in early 2017 force magma to find alternative ("easier") pathways, such as during the (still ongoing) flank eruption from vents on the southern and southeastern flanks that followed.
Original report:
Our expedition leader and correspondent Enku reported that an explosion occurred in the Danakil Depression around 01:47 am local time on 27 May, and possibly came from a (presumably short-lived) eruption.
According to his report, a fissure? opened in the area north of Afdera volcano and south of the Erta Ale range, near the contact between the salt plain and the volcanic range. Contacts from on location and at the university confirmed him that an eruption actually took place and formed a small cone. "Afar friends could not tell me any thing more than they saw a smoke somewhere in this eruption area."
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Previous news
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Friday, Oct 12, 2018
Our Ethiopian expedition organiser Enku made a reconnaissance trip to Erta Ale in September and reported the current status of this continuously changing active volcano. It appears that over summer the lava lake in the summit crater slowly rose and remains very active, but that the fissure eruption at the volcano’s south flank (which started during the dramatic change of volcanic activity mid January 2017) slowed down. ...
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Wednesday, Jul 25, 2018
Danakil expedition organiser Enku reports after our recent tour to this Ethiopian shield volcano that activity continues both at Erta Ale’s summit caldera and the fissure eruption site on its SE flank with sustained lava lakes. ...
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Tuesday, Jul 17, 2018
Although visitor numbers increased significantly over the past years, the active lava lake of Erta Ale volcano and unique colourful scenery of Dallol’s hydrothermal fields remained more risky travel destinations due to their proximity to Ethiopia’s border with Eritrea. The decades long violent conflict between the two countries included the killing of 5 and kidnapping of 2 tourists visiting Erta Ale in January 2012. Following this deadly incident new safety measures involved military presence at all times on Erta Ale’s summit as well as armed Afar escorts for anyone traveling in these parts of the Danakil depression. Increased security made adventure travellers return to this one-off destination which recently saw a large increase in visitors as well as documentary coverage. The region will undoubtedly become even more popular now that the 8 July 2018 peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea unexpectedly made an end to one of Africa’s longest running conflicts. ...
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Saturday, Dec 16, 2017
Our Danakil expedition organiser and tour guide Enku has returned from a short visit to Erta Ale and informed us about both the security situation on the volcano as its activity at the summit. ...
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Wednesday, Dec 06, 2017
Very sad news arrives from the Danakil desert where last Sunday 3 December a German tourist died and his Ethiopian guide got injured while they were climbing Erta Ale. The two were part of a larger tourist group which had traveled from Mekele and was making their way up to the summit of the volcano. ...
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