The world's most active volcanoes - top 10 list
Fri, 26 Oct 2012, 19:13
19:13 PM | BY: TThis interesting question is not easy to answer unless a set of criteria is defined. Erik Klemetti on his Eruptions Blog analyzed which volcanoes had the largest number of "large" eruptions during the Holocene (i.e. roughly past 10,000 years) using the most complete dataset available, the Smithsonian's Global Volcanism Project (GVP) database of known eruptions in the Holocene.
"Large" eruptions were defined here as those that rank at least 4 on the widely used VEI (Volcanic Explosivity Index) scale, i.e. eruptions that produced at least 0.1 cubic kilometers of tephra. For comparison, the eruption of Mt. St. Helens eruption in 1980 ejected about 1 km3 and ranks as a low 5 on the VEI scale.
It should be noted that this method favors volcanoes with dominantly explosive eruptions over those with mainly effusive eruptive style (e.g. Kilauea, Etna, Piton de la Fournaise etc), but the result is still interesting. Perhaps it should be called "the most active explosive volcanoes":
1) Shiveluch, Russia (43 entries)
2) Pelée, Martinique (22 entries)
3) Cotopaxi, Ecuador (21 entries)
4) Katla, Iceland (21 entries)
5) Arenal, Costa Rica (19 entries)
6) Hekla, Iceland (15 entries)
7) Ibusuki Volcanic Field, Japan (15 entries)
8) Taupo, New Zealand (15 entries)
9) Vesuvius, Italy (13 entries)
10) Avachinsky, Kamchatka (12 entries)
To read more, visib Heavy Hitters of Holocene Volcanism on Eruptions Blog.
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