Ruapehu volcano, North Island, New Zealand: news & activity updates
Updated: Aug 14, 2022 12:32 GMT - Refresh
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Wed, 6 Jul 2022, 14:00
On 4 July GeoNet reported that analysis of water from Ruapehu's cater lake confirmed that there is no interaction between magma and the hydrothermal system that drives composition, level, and temperature of the lake. New magma that had intruded over the previous 2-3 months had stopped moving. Tremor had declined to near background levels and gas emission rates were generally low. Read allMon, 4 Jul 2022, 21:54
The volcanic tremor at the volcano continues at low levels over the past 20 days since the last recorded elevated signals. Read allShow more
Wed, 29 Jun 2022, 14:00
On 28 June GeoNet reported that it had been 10 days since the last notable tremor at Ruapehu and the level remained weak. Lake water temperatures declined to 21 degrees Celsius on 14 June from a high of 40 degrees Celsius recorded in early May; temperatures had increased to 25 degrees Celsius during the previous two weeks. Gas emissions continued to fluctuate based on data collected during overflights and were about 10% less on 23 June than on 13 May, though the sulfur dioxide rate during 24-25 June was comparable to those recorded in mid-May, based on gas measuring equipment recently installed at the volcano. Read allTue, 28 Jun 2022, 20:40
The volcanic tremor at the volcano continues at low levels. Read allWed, 22 Jun 2022, 17:00
On 20 June GeoNet reported continuing unrest at Ruapehu. Tremor levels had been characterized as weak to moderate for the previous three weeks but increased for a brief period. Levels increased sharply during the evening of 17 June, fluctuated between moderate and strong levels on 18 June, and then decreased to weak levels by 19 June. Read allMon, 20 Jun 2022, 19:06
The GNS Science reported that a moderate-to-strong volcanic tremor has been registered in the evening of 17 June, but later on 19 June returned to weak values again. Read allWed, 15 Jun 2022, 18:13
On 14 June GeoNet reported that unrest at Ruapehu continued to decline. During the previous week volcanic tremor levels were weak, but remained above background levels recorded since 2013. Lake water temperatures had dropped to 23 degrees Celsius, which corresponded to the long-term average heat flow. Read allWed, 15 Jun 2022, 17:35
The volcanic tremor continued at low levels over the past week, but still remains above the previous average levels since 2013. Read allWed, 8 Jun 2022, 18:34
On 7 June GeoNet reported that elevated unrest at Ruapehu continued, though at reduced levels. During the previous week volcanic tremor levels had decreased from moderate to weak, and lake water temperatures had declined to 28 degrees Celsius. Weather conditions prevented gas measurement flights during the previous few weeks. Read allTue, 7 Jun 2022, 04:32
The seismic tremor at the volcano has decreased to low levels over the past week. Read allShow more
Fri, 3 Jun 2022, 04:24
The activity at the volcano continues at reduced levels since early May. Read allThu, 26 May 2022, 09:08
On 24 May GeoNet reported that elevated unrest at Ruapehu continued, though at reduced levels. During the previous week the levels of volcanic tremor further declined, were variable, but remained above normal. The lake water temperature decreased from a peak of 41 degrees Celsius on 8 May to 30 degrees Celsius, showing a cooling trend. Read allTue, 24 May 2022, 05:01
The GNS volcano observatory reported that the decreasing volcanic tremor still remains at high values in a combination with changing calm periods at the volcano. Read allWed, 18 May 2022, 17:52
On 17 May GeoNet reported that elevated unrest at Ruapehu continued, though at reduced levels. During the previous two weeks the level of volcanic tremor declined from strong to moderate. The lake water temperature decreased from a peak of 41 degrees Celsius on 8 May to 37 degrees Celsius. Read allTue, 17 May 2022, 04:12
The volcanic tremor has decreased over the past two weeks, but remains well above the average levels confirming that the unrest continues at high levels. Read allThu, 12 May 2022, 05:37
On 11 May GeoNet reported that elevated unrest at Ruapehu continued during the previous week, consisting of lake water heating, volcanic gas output, and strong volcanic tremor. The lake water temperature continued to rise, peaking at 41 degrees Celsius. Steam plumes were visible rising from the lake; an overflight confirmed that they were caused by a combination of the warming lake and atmospheric conditions, with no eruptive activity. Read allWed, 11 May 2022, 06:04
The volcanic-seismic unrest of the volcano continues to be elevated. Read allThu, 5 May 2022, 06:40
On 2 May GeoNet reported that elevated unrest at Ruapehu continued during the previous week, consisting of lake water heating, volcanic gas output, and strong volcanic tremor. Variable tremor levels were characterized by bursts of strong tremor and short periods of weaker tremor. The lake water temperature had risen to 38 degrees Celsius. Read allTue, 3 May 2022, 23:32
On May 3rd, 2022, a steam plume was visible above Mt Ruapehu's Crater Lake (Te Wai ā-moe). Read allFri, 29 Apr 2022, 07:03
On 26 April GeoNet reported that elevated unrest at Ruapehu had been ongoing for the past five weeks, characterized by lake water heating, volcanic gas output, and strong volcanic tremor. Tremor levels fluctuated the past week but represented a record for the longest and strongest tremor episode ever recorded at the volcano. The lake water temperature remained at 37 degrees Celsius, indicating a substantial amount of heat from magma at a shallow depth (0.5-2 km), though water chemistry showed no change based on sampling during 31 March-15 April. Read allShow more
Tue, 26 Apr 2022, 05:01
The elevated volcanic tremor remains in progress over the past five weeks and to recognize as the longest-lived tremor over the past 20 years. Read allWed, 20 Apr 2022, 19:07
On 20 April GeoNet reported that elevated unrest at Ruapehu had continued during the previous week. Scientists observed upwelling in the lake over the N vent area and visible sulfur slicks on the lake's surface during an observation flight. The lake water temperature had stabilized at 37 degrees Celsius and continued to be medium gray in color. Read allWed, 20 Apr 2022, 02:54
The volcanic unrest continues to be elevated over the past four weeks. Read allThu, 14 Apr 2022, 21:51
The elevated volcanic unrest continued over the past seven days, but increased to high levels that indicate an intensifying internal tremor and gas flux. Read allThu, 14 Apr 2022, 00:02
On 12 April GeoNet reported that unrest at Ruapehu had intensified during the previous week, characterized by increased gas emissions, elevated tremor, and increasing crater lake water temperatures. Tremor levels were elevated but had declined from the peak reached during 6-7 April. Higher levels of gas emissions were confirmed during an overflight on 11 April; a peak carbon dioxide value was the second highest ever recorded at Ruapehu. Read allWed, 6 Apr 2022, 20:07
On 28 March and 5 April GeoNet reported that unrest continued at Ruapehu with elevated levels of tremor and increasing crater lake water temperatures from 32 degrees Celsius to 36 degrees Celsius. The Volcanic Alert Level remained at 2 (on a scale from 0-5) and the Aviation Color Code was raised to Yellow on 28 March. Read allWed, 6 Apr 2022, 17:06
The volcano continues its heating cycle as scientists recorded that the crater lake temperature has now risen from 32 to 36 deg. C over the past days. Read all